Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand on Monday said that the career span of players has become shorter than earlier times because of the high level of hard work arising out of intense competition. He said the level of "physical tension" is much higher these days as compared to earlier times and so players need to be physically fit. "The physicality of your life is coming into the sport. The level of physical tension and physical level is much higher now. So nowadays, it is fitness, fitness and fitness," Anand said on 'DRS With Ash', a show by India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin on Youtube.

"This hard work is very energy-intense and therefore, career spans are shortening. This is unquestionable," he added. The 51-year old chess maestro was referring to the hard work that (chess) players put in these days. Asked about playing against players of the younger generation, Anand said he would try to bring unfamiliar situations to them by using his vast experience. "Younger players, you could drop them in any situation and they would just calculate better. And how these two strategies clashed? Computers changed that, because it has shortened the time, you need to have experience," he said. Anand said the legendary Bobby Fischer was one of the reasons many began to look at chess as a career. "In the 1970s and 80s, probably like many sports, chess was just starting to become like a career. The biggest reason was Bobby Fischer.