India's Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand Is the Undisputed Titan of Chess Sumit Dayal for TIME Over the course of several hours in his Chennai home, Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand has held forth on Mitt Romney's chances of becoming President, the fate of the euro and the intricacies of Spain's "tiki-taka" soccer style. We've also talked about how he became - and has stayed - the world champion in the most cerebral game mankind has ever invented. Throughout the conversation, Anand has been cool, measured and unhurried. But now the afternoon has taken a surreal turn, and he's leaning forward in his chair, waving his hands and making faces. The smartest man I've ever met is... To read the entire article, you must be a TIME subscriber. Already registered? Sign in below Current print subscribers to register Subscribe now to get TIME All Access Your subscription has expired. Please click here to gain access again. Email, Password or Region is incorrect A required form parameter was missing. The System is currently down. Please try again in a few minutes. Email Address is invalid Password is blank