Kolkata, Five-time chess world champion Viswanathan Anand today said he was not interested in thinking who would win the next title but believed that he would do it again. "I hope it's me. After me, me... what can I say... I am not trying not to think of who is coming next. Because, I am not interested," the chess wizard said when asked who would be the next world champion.
Anand said that he does not believe in numbers when asked if he was looking to emulate Russian legend Garry Kasparov's feat of six titles. "I only think one championship ahead. I don't think about numbers. This time I was only playing against (Boris) Gelfand, I was not thinking about the fifth (title) or something."
Anand said that he opted out of India's team for the chess Olympiad in Turkey, scheduled from August 27-December 10, as he did not enjoy the format. "I had issues with the format. It's already been several times that I've done this. I want to concentrate on some other tournaments."
Asked if it's okay for stalwarts like him and Sachin Tendulkar in cricket to opt out willingly, Anand said: "It's not that I want to make a category of stalwarts and then have a special sort of rights. I really don't know what to say about this."
On critics who pointed fingers at his age, the 42-year-old said: "It sounds strange to me and keep on explaining that how a 40 or 42-year-old keeps playing chess. It's a strange phenomenon. If you love the game and you do hard works you will still do well. People may be surprised but you shouldn't have to explain it so much.
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