The hunger to win is still there: Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand in Kolkata

Kolkata, Dec 22 A month after losing the chess world chess championship crown to Norwegian talent Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand Sunday said he he still retained the hunger for a comeback, but conceded age was catching up with him.

“I want to come back into the reckoning. The hunger is still there. I will continue to try. Only time can say whether I can do that successfully,” Anand told media persons here.

“Age is a factor, but there is not much one can do about it. The top ten players are all younger.. But I don’t look at this that way,” said the 44-year-old Anand.

He said he wanted to focus on getting results by changing his approach to the game.

“I still want to play challenging tournaments including rapid chess.”

The five-time world champion said he did not intend to continue beyond 50.

“Every player has a shelf life. I don’t think I will continue beyond 50. But I can’t set a definite number of years for myself. I will continue as long as I enjoy the game.”

Anand said he would concentrate on fixing some issues which have crept into his game after taking a break.

The top rated grand master did not rule out playing the Candidates Tournament slated to be played in the Russian city of Khanty Mansiysk in March, but said he would take the final decision later.

On the loss to Vladimir Kramnik in the quarter final of the London Classic, he said: ” I adopted a different style, wanted to play freely. It worked in initials rounds but in knockout it didn’t work out the way I wanted.”

On Sachin Tendulkar being nominated for Bharat Ratna ahead of him, Anand said: “I don’t feel hard done, as my achievements speak for themselves”. — IANS/Photo via www.chesspics.com.

* Anand was in Kolkata as part of an NIIT Mind Champions programme