Anand: The 'Lord of the Rings'

World Champion Viswanathan Anand was born on December 11, 1969 in Chennai. His father Vishwanathan is a retired general manager, Southern Railways.

'Vishy' as he is called by friends, developed the love for playing chess due to the constant inspiration of his mother Susheela, who taught him the game when Anand was six-years of age.

Anand pursued his schooling from Don Bosco school and finished graduation in B Com from Loyola College in Chennai. Jawaharlal Technology University conferred him the Honorary Doctorate degree at the age of 18.

The World Chess Champion started playing tennis in his childhood. And thanks to his dislike for the coaching camps in his school, Vishy left tennis and started playing chess. Anand also likes reading, swimming and listening to music.

Anand married Aruna in 1996. Both Anand and Aruna are fluent in Spanish; Anand also speaks German and French. In the early years of their marriage, Aruna called Anand 'Lord of the Rings' because he kept losing his wedding ring.