DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — With the GCL underway, the former World Champion Viswanathan Anand has made a return to the chessboard. A couple of months removed from his 53rd birthday, Anand has showed no signs of slowing down as he played a fine game to dispatch 25 year old Polish GM Jan Krzysztof Duda. When asked in the subsequent press conference about how he is able to play such a high level at an age where most professional chess players have long retired, Anand made a stunning revelation: Not Retiring
Critics and pundits had long assumed that retirement was mandatory for a professional chess player upon reaching their 40’s, let alone 50’s. However, Anand’s secret to simply not retire has left his peers scratching their heads. “Yeah, I just decided I wouldn’t retire when I hit 40 and keep working on my chess,” the Indian Grandmaster explained.” Everyone told me that as soon as I hit 40 my brain would turn to mush and I’d be lucky to beat a Kardashian in a game of chess, but obviously that never happened.”
