I thought FIDE's refusal was a prank: Anand

Viswanathan Anand on Wednesday described the International Chess Federation's initial refusal to elevate him to number one ranking in its latest charts as 'inexplicable and strange'.

"Linares has always made it to the April lists. It is, by far, one of the most important events in the chess calendar. Not to rate it is very strange. If we have ratings every three months, this is to make the ratings more relevant," Anand told PTI.

"As to why FIDE didn't rate the event I do not have an explanation. But now that it has been rated I do not wish to
dwell on it any longer."

The Indian ace thought that somebody was playing an April fool prank on him.

"I was the last one to know. But I was getting a lot of calls on April 1st. Now it being April fool, I was not sure what to believe. Then I saw the hundreds of emails and messages in the forums. It was very special that everyone stood up for me. I can't thank the fans enough. It was truly special," he said.

"To become world number one and officially see it on paper is satisfying. I just want to say a big thank you," the 37-year-old Indian grandmaster added.

Anand became the world number one for the first time in his career by virtue of winning the Morelia-Linares classical
chess tournament.

But FIDE initially did not take the event into account when calculating the rating points while updating the rankings, saying the Linares tournament fell outside the cut-off date of February 28.

The game's world governing body, however, was forced to change its stand following protests from chess fans and the All India Chess Federation.

Anand, who was playing in Bundesliga in Germany when the news came, however said he did not allow himself to get
affected by FIDE's action.

"I thought I was not getting to let this get in the way. I had to play. I will deal with this later. But everyone was angry. Somehow it felt very surreal and I was trying to cocoon myself," he said.

"Only when I finished the game and spoke to my wife Aruna, she mentioned all the intrigue and drama. I would like to thank the AICF, various chess journals and websites like Chessbase who stood up for me."

"I was the protagonist of this and I think I was the last person to get involved. It unfolded like a drama and finished
well," Anand said.