"To be honest I've learnt a lot from him (Anand) in the past, both playing against him and especially while tr... Read More

CHENNAI: The crown sits pretty, so does the newly-coronated king's charm. Magnus Carlsen is a picture of earnest patience as he braved questions by the dozen and posed almost endlessly for shutterbugs, all with the lopsided smile in place. Two days after his title conquest, the 22 year-old Norwegian spoke on a range of topics, from why he chose not to reveal his seconds, what he has learnt from Anand to why the five-time Indian champion does not figure among his favourites to turn challenger. Excerpts…

On whether the match ended earlier than he expected…

I thought it was hard at the start. In the first game, Vishy introduced novelty in a really obscure line and when I was discussing the game with him afterwards I was very impressed with everything he'd seen and how fast he had been thinking. I thought to myself that if he's prepared even in this line, how am I ever going to catch him off guard? But fortunately it turned out that he was also a bit nervous after a few games and I settled in and dominated the match.

On why Anand does not figure (Carlsen had recently named Aronian and Kramnik) among those he feels could be his next challenger…

Firstly, Vishy will have to figure out if he would want to play in the Candidates tournament . Although he's an all-time great player, his results lately have not been too good and he'll need some time to readjust to be able to come back. It all depends on him now. He needs to figure some things out and if he manages to keep his motivation after this match he will still be a force to reckon with. Right now though I don't think he's the biggest favourite at the Candidates.

On what he's learnt from Anand…

To be honest I've learnt a lot from him in the past, both playing against him and especially while training with him. Just the kind of positions that he understands, the way he would just outplay me like no one else did in several kinds of positions. Also the precision with which he analyses games and positions has been an eye-opener. In this match I showed him in a way that although he's taught me many things in the past, it's probably now my turn to teach him. So, it's safe to say I've surpassed him now.

On whether all his strategies worked against Anand and how much of a role age and psychology played…

The main objective in my preparation was to get a playable position and not to come under any great pressure from the opening. I managed to equalise the game from the opening especially with black pieces and was able to push and outplay him in the rest of the games. Age was partly a factor. I could also sense that he was nervous and vulnerable. But regardless of everything else, he just lost to a better player.

On whether next year's title match is already on his mind…

Yes, I'm already thinking about it. It is also a reason why I have not spoken much about my current seconds since they could be part of my team then as well. I have the lead in world rankings and the title as well now. I don't think it's my duty to think who will play against me, it should in fact be the other way round. My opponents will have to figure out how to deal with me. I think I will be the man to beat for quite some time now.

On whether he believes the 12-game format is the right way to go about the title contest…

Anything between 12-16 games is fine. More than that would not be ideal in the modern era.

On what the title means to him and the responsibilities of being a world champion…

I've been ranked No. 1 in the world for sometime now, but it always has been a bit of a burden not having the world title. It means a great deal to have won it finally and is a dream come true. So I can relax a bit now and do what I do best. As far as responsibilities are concerned, I just need to do what I've been doing so far.

On whom he owes his win to…

My family especially my father, team and seconds. They have attended to all my requests, no matter how unreasonable those might have been. My seconds have worked hard and have not slept well so that I would be well prepared. They actually worked harder than I asked them to!