Reaching 2800 ELO rating is my next aim, says Anand

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">HYDERABAD: V Anand was at his vitriolic best after winning the World Cup here on Sunday. He spoke to Times News Network on a host of issues.<br />Excerpts:<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On the draw the last league match here</span>: My draw with Hichem was a practical step. ‘N’ number of things could have gone wrong with others in my group.Trying to win from that position could have backfired. I created the real problems for Sasikiran (moves his head with regret). I was very philosophical about the last day in the league phase.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On the World Cup format</span>: There was nothing wrong with the format (league-cum-knock-out) though a rest day would have helped. The player makes a mistake not the format. Round-robin is not bad because you can recover. While in two-game knockout matches, there is little margin for error.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On the value of this tournament win without Kasparov and Kramnik</span>: They are sitting on Eiffel Tower anyway (not playing many events). There is tremendous depth in chess. Though these guys didn’t play, this tournament can’t be devalued. There are more chess players coming up and challenging us. This win wasn’t a piece of cake at all. I had to work hard for it.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On his form</span>: I have got one or two shaky results. I did very well in Prague (winning an event in presence of Kasparov and Kramnik), had a shaky time in Leon. Then I won in Mainz. So it’s nice to continue this run. I may have won even one or two rating points. Of course, to win the World Cup again is a nice addition to my medals room.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On what more remains to conquer</span>: (smiles) More of the same would be fine. One of the things I would like to do is reach 2800 Elo rating. That’s an immediate aim. And then as and when the World championship crystallises, try and win that.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On playing Kasparov</span>: I’m playing against him in Linares tournament. But he is not the centre of my attention. Generally, I like to improve. Of course, he is a great player. Maybe one of the greatest. Right now, he even doesn’t have a title. So why are we stuck with him?<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On new time controls</span>: Generally, reduced time control is good for the game. You need to encourage as many tournaments to happen. That can only be good because you increase the base. So many good tournaments would not have happened without the introduction of rapid chess. In seven-hour time control (classical) there are too many practical problems. It’s like Test and One-day cricket. But you have to grow the game by encouraging the shorter version. It’s a delicate mix.</div> </div>