Viswanathan Anand

15th World Champion

“I think you should focus on what you can do first. Having been through something similar myself, I’d advise simply ignoring it. And if you can’t ignore it, if it affects you on some level — accept that it’s normal.

No one promised you perfect happiness. Even as a World Champion, your life doesn’t have to be perfect — no one owes you everything. It will be rough, everyone will look at you differently, and everyone will secretly covet your title.

I don’t think you appreciate the World Champion title until you lose it. And when you lose it, you’ll suddenly think: ‘Did I really complain about these things? Because, my God, how nice it would be to have it back!’ So, for Gukesh, it’s part of the job. Just ignore them, let the criticism go.

Some of it is, of course, legitimate if your performance is dropping. If fans buy tickets, they have the right to say whatever they want — whether it’s fair or not. Lock yourself in a room, and then just ignore it, focusing on doing a good job in at least one tournament. If not this one, then the next, but you need to work towards something.

Nothing answers doubts in you better than a good result. I think that’s what the attitude has to be.”