In one of your earlier interviews, you had told me that Kramnik was one of your good friends. Last one year, was it different?
Definitely. We have hardly spoken in the last year. But you cannot separate the fact that we were both fighting for the highest title. In Monaco, we spoke a bit. It is inevitable that your relations will be affected a little bit. On balance, it is still pretty good.
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When those 11 matches were going on, how did you energise yourself after each game?
After each game, I went back to the hotel and then the gym and worked out a bit -- around 30-40 minutes.
I had a very good team that took a lot of the weight off my back. They were working incredibly till 5 or 6 in the morning just to have me ready for the next game. In that sense, my support team and Aruna managed to see that I never found out anything about the match. I could just concentrate on the chess and do nothing else.
I also had friends there who were helping in all sorts of ways. In that sense, I was cocooned from the real problems of the match.
How did you choose your seconds this time?
I looked for sound, young players. I thought I could learn interesting things from them. Neilsen and I have been together for many years. I have also worked with Surya for several years. Wojaszek is somebody I met recently. I asked him after we played December last year. Finally, I asked Kasimdzhanov, who is also a former World champion in 2004. He is a friend of mine. That comprised the team. I am very happy the team worked very well.
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