When there's an important tournament going on, I try and stay in a bubble. It's easy that way because then you don't have to worry about anything else.

I was very lucky that while I was a chess player in a country where chess was not a big deal, I happened to be in the one city where there was a sprouting chess team: Chennai.

Confidence is very important - even pretending to be confident. If you make a mistake but do not let your opponent see what you are thinking then he may overlook the mistake.

I feel that schools and corporates should help the government in popularising sports in the country. Blaming the government for every sporting debacle will not be fair.

There are some things we do much better than computers, but since most of chess is tactically based they do many things better than humans. And this imbalance remains. I no longer have any issues. It's bit like asking an astronomer, does he mind that a telescope does all the work. He is used to it. It is just an incredible tool that you can use.

Preparedness for a game that usually lasts four-five hours requires good physical condition and also steady nerves.

For every door the computers have closed they have opened a new one.