Vishy Anand is a private person at heart. He likes his space and he likes to keep his stories to himself. That's the reason why his book Mind Master is such a fascinating read. Vishy treads the uncomfortable path where he reveals so much more about himself than what he had in the past. Speaking to Rakesh Rao from 'The Hindu', Vishy says, "I talk more frankly. May be, it's just the sense that, now everything's in the past and I can talk about it without the pains and so on.” In this article Anand talks about his experience of promoting his book Mind Master, what are the impressions of the chess community about the book and what the year 2020 looks like in terms of his playing schedule.

Back in the early 80s the biggest question on the mind of Indian chess fans was - Who would become India's first GM? There were many strong and senior players who were already IMs or close to IM strength and were attempting to break this barrier. But in came two youngsters - Vishy Anand born in 1969 and Dibyendu Barua born in 1966, who took the Indian chess by storm. Their rivalry was intense as they blitzed past all their competitors to become two of India's strongest chess players. In 1987 Vishy Anand ended the drought by becoming India's first GM. Four years later Barua achieved the feat in 1991. Anand and Barua were India's first two GMs. Deputy editor of Hindu Rakesh Rao sat down with both Anand and Barua together at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata and took them back down the memory lane to talk about their friendship, rivalry and more!

The 54th National Premier was scheduled to begin on the 16th of November 2016. With the participation of star players like Vidit Gujrathi and B. Adhiban this is one of the strongest National Premiers we have seen in recent times. However, the first round did not take place at all. Reason? Organizers couldn't book a playing venue for the tournament. The players were left frustrated and disappointed. The organizers have extended the tournament by one day and have promised to compensate the players.