Magnus Carlsen, the newly-crowned World Champion, yesterday said that five-time title holder Viswanathan Anand wilted under pressure in the World Chess Championship here.
“I would like to take some responsibility for his mistakes that’s for sure. People crack under pressure even in the World Championship. That’s what the history shows. The blunders that he made are not the mistakes he usually makes. This is what I really wanted to do, make him sit at the board and play for a long time,” Carlsen revealed his strategy that gave him a 6.5-3.5 victory over the Indian legend.
Magnus Carlsen
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Carlsen, who became the first Western champion since 1975, said he was delighted to win the title. “It feels good. It’s been tough both here and in London (where Carlsen won the candidates to qualify here). I have been treated very well here in India. In general, at some point I settled in and got the match to where I could play to my strength,” said the World No 1. Carlsen said it was a worthy end to the championship. “I was just trying to play solidly in the opening. I am pretty happy with what I got, very solid position no weaknesses.
Magnus Carlsen’s father Henrik Albert (left) is greeted by well-wishers and fans in Chennai yesterday. Pic/AFP.
“As the game went on, he started to drift a bit and then I thought as long as there is no risk I should try and win it. At some point after the timeu00a0control, the variations were getting too complicated so I decided to shut it down to force a draw,” said the Norwegian.
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