Management Advise from the World Chess champion Vishwanath Anand

Vishy has the moves for biz pawns too The King Of Chess Gives Readers Of ET Seven Lessons: Simple & PowerfulIT is not everyday that the world's greatest in the most popular gameof the mind lets you in on moves that will help you excel in thebusiness world. So pause and take a deep breath. Be prepared to chewon every word said, for every sentence could be a rung to rise in thecorporate world. Viswanathan Anand, the just crowned king of chess,gave a master class to ET on how to become the best in business byusing some of his strategies and tactics.Vishy Anand occupied centre stage in the Indian chess scene when hebecame the youngest Indian to win the international master title atthe age of 15 years, in 1984. He went on to win more titles since. Thecrowning glory came this year in Mexico City, when Anand became theundisputed world chess champion. One would expect a sportsperson touse the most eloquent terms to weave business and chess. However,Anand chose to bring out the parallels in a simple, straightforwardmanner frequently interspersed with examples and anecdotes.Some of them might seem counter-intuitive. Take for example: "A lot ofchess players get too absorbed in the game, and try to get to thebottom of it. But, that's essentially a distraction." This might flyin the face of perfectionists — it's not the perfectionists who getthe market share, but those who give the right stuff at the righttime. Or take his views on tension — it helps you concentrate and bealert. Those who espouse relaxation and wellness classes mightdisagree. But it's the likes of Anand who keep chanting 'I should notrelax' who manage to conquer world championships. For those of youwondering why some of the best laid plans go awry, his tip toconstantly think in terms of opponents — what will 'he' do, how will'he' react — might throw some light.It's also about your competitor's plansBUSINESS is not about your plans; it's also about your competitor'splans. The practice of going back home and analysing the game —objectively, by casting a cold eye on your advantages, 'by beingmerciless to yourself' — is how you become a better chess player, andhow you become a great manager or a businessman.Anand gives the readers of ET seven lessons — simple and powerful.Know what your goals are — seeking perfection might be a distraction:In chess, you have to learn what your goal is. Win the game, scorepoints. It is a fascinating game and you can get lost in it. But thegoal is not to make the perfect move, not to get into the bottom of aposition. It's simply to trick the opponent to win the game. Again,you have to make your best decisions in two hours. A lot of chessplayers get too absorbed in the game and try to get to the bottom ofit. But, that's essentially a distraction.Strive for objectivity — you may be optimistic or pessimistic, but berealistic: In chess, two players can look at the same position andcome up with completely different ideas. But, if you are excessivelyoptimistic or pessimistic, you will lose a lot of points. Some chessplayers tend to feel lucky, and decide they can take a gamble. Buteven then, you must know where you stand. First analyse your positionand get an objective feel of it. Objectivity is not the face you showto outside world — it's a face you show to yourself. If I am cheatingmyself, it's not going to work. Still in the heat of the game, it'sdifficult to be objective. You tend to get emotional. So, it'simportant to develop the habit of analysing after a chess game. Now,your information is complete. You cannot hide anything. Remember, anadvantage need not be an advantage at all times. Being realistic isnot easy. It demands constant analytical work. Be merciless withyourself. That is when you grow as a chess player.Feel the pressure, but don't worry about things you can't control:Tension helps you concentrate well. Being relaxed might be dangerous.Often, after a wild success you will have a failure. Winning the fifthround recently, an important game, relaxed me so much that I lost thenext two games. You might say to yourself, I shouldn't relax. But it'sdifficult. Performance goes down with satisfaction. When you have thatfeeling, you will not think of the optimal move. You will make easymoves. When you are relaxed, you are off-guard, your sense of dangercomes down. After every success you should be wary of becoming toorelaxed. The way out is to be engrossed in your subject. There is nopoint in worrying about things you can't control. That's wherephysical exercises help. But before the game is when you worry most.That's where sleep helps. Right before game I have a nap. I wake up,have a shower, and go to the board. Then I am relaxed, but not in abad way.Know your opponent — what is his goal, what are his favourite lines,is he deviating, why? Look beyond the board for information: Chess isall about applying game theory. You always think in terms of what youropponent will do, how he will respond to your moves. Again, in chess,most people specialise in something. Nobody does everything.Understanding that is important. If your opponent does something outof his normal range, ask yourself why? And the answer could be — he'snow trying to specialise in a new area; he's trying to expand hisgame; his favourite line, at the moment, is in trouble and he's notdone repair work or he could be bluffing. So even if the lines thatare not my favourite ones , I keep a bird's eye view. When he makes achoice you don't expect, you have all this extra information. When thegame is on, don't look just at the board, also look at your opponent.You get a lot of information from the body language of your opponent,and that could be important. But you must not become obsessed withthat. Analysis and sharpen intuition: Intuition is often used as asubstitute for calculation. If there is some move that's winning, andyou know it's winning, that's not intuition. Intuition is when youmake leaps into the dark. But it's very difficult to draw linesbetween intuition and strategic thinking. If you calculate a lot, evenif you don't get till the end, your guess is going to be better. Expand your horizons — there might be some gems in the garbage youhave discarded: In chess, we humans generally analyse two positionsper second. Computers can analyse two three million positions persecond. Even at two positions per second, we can compete withcomputers. But at some point, the number gets so large that we missall the exceptions. If something doesn't work six out of 10 times, wediscard it. But computers constantly look for unusual moves — and canbeat us on the exceptions. We discard the rubbish efficiently. Butthat rubbish is not all rubbish. There could be a lot of gems in that.Very often a computer will tell you something that challenges youropinion. Computers can help you expand your horizons. Also, you needto collaborate. Ten people will always have more ideas than one. When you lose, move on to the next battle: Handling defeat isusually just impossible. You are totally depressed and the defeat isgoing over and over like a tape in your head. It's useful to learn tobe disciplined and put it out of your head. Perhaps it's in businesslife as well. You have to say 'okay, this battle is over' and move onto the next one.