SSC
'Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Champion's Life' is the autobiography of:
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Answer: Option A — Viswanathan Anand
Detailed Solution
"Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Champion's Life" is the autobiography of the Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand, written with sports journalist Susan Ninan and published in December 2019.
About the book:
It describes Anand's childhood in Chennai, where his mother taught him chess at the age of six, and his years in the Philippines, where he solved chess puzzles from television.
It covers his rise to the top of world chess, his famous matches against Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov, Boris Gelfand and Magnus Carlsen, and the lessons he learned about preparation, handling pressure, losing and staying motivated.
About Viswanathan Anand:
- He was born on 11 December 1969 in Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu.
- He became India's first chess Grandmaster in 1988.
- He was World Chess Champion five times: in 2000 (FIDE knockout championship) and the undisputed World Champion in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
- He lost his title to Magnus Carlsen of Norway in 2013 in Chennai.
- He was called the "Tiger of Madras" and the "Lightning Kid" because of his very fast play.
- He was the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (1991-92) and the first sportsperson to receive the Padma Vibhushan (2007).
- In 2022, he was elected Deputy President of FIDE.
He has mentored a new generation of Indian Grandmasters, including D. Gukesh, who became World Champion in 2024, through the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy.
Books by other chess champions:
- Garry Kasparov: "How Life Imitates Chess" and "Deep Thinking".
- Bobby Fischer: "My 60 Memorable Games".
- Magnus Carlsen (Norway): World Champion 2013-2023.
- Koneru Humpy: India's first woman Grandmaster (2002).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Garry Kasparov wrote "How Life Imitates Chess".
- ✗Magnus Carlsen took Anand's world title in 2013.
- ✗Koneru Humpy is India's first woman Grandmaster.
Quick tip
Remember: "Mind Master" (2019, with Susan Ninan) = Viswanathan Anand (first Indian GM 1988; 5-time World Champion; first Khel Ratna 1991-92; first sportsperson with Padma Vibhushan 2007).
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.