Losing world chess crown had a devastating effect on me: Anand

Chennai: Chess ace Viswanathan Anand has said that losing World Chess crown had affected his confidence and it took him time to get back.

He said that his recent 2014 FIDE Candidates Chess tournament win offered a chance to explore his quest to regain the championship title from current champion Magnus Carlsen later this year. Anand won the 2014 FIDE Candidates Chess tournament after settling for a draw with Sergey Karjakin of Russia in the 13th and penultimate round last Saturday. The Former World Chess Champion on Wednesday confessed that he wasn`t even sure if he could play in the Candidates Chess tournament in the first place as the World Championship had a devastating effect on his `peace of mind`. "In a funny way, I got into the whole discussion that I was going to play at the Candidates or not. What I was trying to say was, I need, may be a few days alone just to let your head settle down, I mean it`s a bit of funny thing, I mean a World Championship Title becomes something you think you own and then one day it is gone and then you have to get used to this kind of withdrawal symptom," said Anand. Anand, the five-time world champion had lost the crown to Carlsen in November last, winning the Candidates, paved the way for a revenge match with the Norwegian. The 44 year old said it took him a week to get solace and fight back to play the tournament. "Between Christmas and New Year I managed to get a week alone and just to think about it. And infact by the end, one morning I woke up and its insane not to play, what possible justification could be there, not to play such a good tournament," added Anand. Talking about the upcoming Carlsen match he said that he has ideas and is working on them as of now, to offer some surprises to reigning Champion. In November last year, a draw in the crucial 10th game after 65 moves of play gave the young Norwegian an unassailable lead in the 12-match contest and put an end to Anand`s hopes of retaining the FIDE title he`s held since 2007