A wonderful surprise and amazing feeling, says Anand

TIL Desk Sports/ Relieved after claiming his first rapid world title since 2003, Indian chess ace Viswanathan Anand said he entered the tournament in a “pessimistic” frame of mind but managed to surprise himself and the world with an unbeaten campaign.

The 48-year-old, who had been drawing flak from critics for a string of sub-par performances in the recent past, hit back in style, by winning the World Rapid title in Riyadh yesterday.

“The last two rapid events were nothing short of disastrous. I came here in a pessimistic frame of mind. But it has just been the most wonderful surprise. But I played well,” Anand told.

The former world champion remained unbeaten through the tournament and came back strongly to bag the top position on a tie-break after a three-way tie with Russians Vladimir Fedoseev and Ian Nepomniachtchi at 10.5 points from a possible 15.

The Chennai ace then defeated Fedoseev 2-0 in a two-game tie-break to win the trophy. Anand said he had had a particularly tough year coming into the event in Riyadh.