Although he noted that the game of chess has changed in recent times, he was willing to offer advice to the new generation.
Teenaged Grandmaster D Gukesh shocked world number 5 Fabiano Caruana as India 'B' pulled off a superb 3-1 win over number 2 seeds USA in the eighth round of the Open section of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai on Saturday.
The 44th edition of the prestigious event will witness a record 188 teams in the Open section and 162 in the women's side.
The game incidentally was an old Sicilian where Shirov tried an unconventional ninth move.
Apart from a place in the Candidates to be played in April next year in Canada, Vaishali got richer by US$25000 (Over Rs 20 Lakhs) while Vidit took home a whopping prize purse of US$80000 (Over Rs 66 Lakhs).
India 'B' played out a 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan in the 9th round of the open section, while India 'A' and 'C' teams registered identical 3-1 wins in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai, on Sunday.
After six draws in a row, Praggnanandhaa was relieved after the victory, a result of Gupta's blunder under time pressure.
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi pipped Rinat Zumabayev of Kazakhstan in the fifth round to share the top spot.
Teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh upset Magnus Carlsen in the ninth round of the preliminary phase of the Aimchess Rapid online chess tournament, becoming the youngest to beat the World champion.
The Indian men's and women's chess teams won silver medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday.
India 'B' defeated Germany 3-1 in their final round match to end at third position.
In the Open section, the India 'B' team, which has been in sparkling form, had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan as the in-form D Gukesh lost to Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the reigning world rapid chess champion.
Vidit Gujrathi crashed through the defences of Hans Moke Niemann of the United States to join the leaders' pack on 4.5 points.
All India Chess Federation (AICF) president Sanjay Kapoor said the federation is also working on organising an Indian Chess League.
For a long time, Viswanathan Anand was the lone flag-bearer of Indian chess, taking the world by storm with his exploits.
The India 'A' and 'B' teams registered comprehensive seventh round victories
R Praggnanandhaa's ability to defend seamlessly in pressure situations and the deductive mind to quickly gauge his opponent's weakness is the hallmark of a world class player, national coach GM M Shyam Sundar said on Tuesday.
Praggnanandhaa turned things around in the all-Indian battle after his opponent blundered
The Indian teams made winning starts in the Open and women's sections of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Friday.
Erigaisi is currently in fifth place after eight rounds.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has charted his own path to glory and is closer to greatness than ever.
India will be fielding three teams each in the Open and women's sections respectively.
Gukesh aims to keep improving after becoming India No 1 without sponsorship support
India 'B' blanked Estonia 4-0 in the second round of the Open section in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai, on Saturday while the second-seeded India 'A' team defeated Moldova 3.5-0.5 to make it two wins from as many matches.
In the women's event, the country's top player Koneru Humpy has 3.5 points with two wins and three draws after five rounds as does R Vaishali who has scored three victories to go with a draw apart from a loss.
In the women's event, India's D Harika drew with Nino Bastiashvili (Georgia) to move up to four points. She is in joint third place with six others.
Sankalp Gupta becomes India's 71st GM.
India's Dronavalli Harika defeated former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria in the third round of the FIDE Grand Swiss chess tournament in Riga to grab a share of the lead.
Meanwhile in the women's event, Padmini Rout and R Vaishali joined compatriot Bhakti Kulkarni in the second round.
While Vaishali got the better of Ukraine's Inna Gopanenko in round eight, Rout defeated Russia's Baira Kovanova.
Indian players experienced mixed fortunes in the second round of the FIDE Grand Swiss chess tournament here with two each in the men's and women's sections registering victories.
With the Indian teams doing well so far, they can run into one another in the competition.
Indian GM S L Narayanan finishes second in chess tourney in Armenia
Legendary Indian chess player Viswanathan Anand has joined hands with WestBridge Capital to launch an academy, through which the five-time world champion will train youngsters.
Anand firmly believes that India has enough talent to produce the next Chess World Champion
It has bolstered the home team's medal chances at the 14-day event, which is expected to see massive participation from more than 150 countries.
'It will be special. Looking forward to going to a world championship match without the tension of playing. I am a chess fan too and hope it will be a good match'
He is the youngest Indian to achieve the feat at 12 years, seven months and 17 days, erasing the mark set by his state-mate R Praggnanandhaa in June last year.
Vaishali, sister of the Indian chess prodigy and GM R Praggnanandhaa, scored impressive victories over Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine) and Russia's Valentina Gunina on the opening day of the Blitz championship.
Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand has also expressed his willingness to partner the company in helping the youngsters.