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The "Tiger of Madras" calls checkmate 「馬德拉斯之虎」將對方軍！
Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007,Page 15
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Chess masters Viswanathan Anand, right, and Alexander Grischuk, left, play during the final round of the World Chess Championship in Mexico City, Sep. 28, 2007. 西洋棋大師維斯瓦納坦．阿南德（右）與亞歷山大．葛雷舒克（左）九月二十八日在墨西哥市舉行的全球西洋棋錦標賽決賽中對弈
PHOTO: AFP
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In late September, Indian Viswanathan Anand, 38, won four games and drew the rest to win the World Chess Championship held in Mexico City.
Anand, who was born in the southern Indian city of Madras, combines a calm, modest manner with lightning brilliance on the chessboard. He learned the game at age six from his mother, Susheela, whom he had an emotional chat with after his victory.
"With a choking voice, Anand said 'amma (mom), I have won. I am the world champion for the second time,'" Susheela said.
His wife, Aruna Anand, likens his mind to a computer. In addition to his talent, she said Anand puts in long hours every day refining his game.
Anand has collected a number of nicknames over the years. When he beat Anatoly Karpov in 2000, he was dubbed the "Indian Meteor" for the speed of his rise in the chess world.
His wife is amused by another nickname for her spouse, the "Tiger of Madras."
"In Madras, there are no tigers. There are perhaps two in the zoo," said Aruna, who accompanies her husband to all his tournaments.
But she said the nickname captures how Anand appears to be taking it easy until he "seizes the advantage and is transformed into a tiger."
The stocky, bespectacled Anand, with a round, smiling face, divides his time between Madras, the United States and Madrid -- his base for tournaments in Europe. But it's in India where he's treated as a hero.
"Given that chess is officially played in 161 countries, he is our only global icon," said the Hindustan Times newspaper. (Staff writer, with AFP)
上個月底，三十八歲的印度西洋棋手維斯瓦納坦．阿南德以贏四局、其他皆為平手的成績，拿下在墨西哥市舉行的全球西洋棋錦標賽的冠軍。
阿南德生於印度南部的馬德拉斯市。他兼具穩重與謙遜的特質，並且在西洋棋上表現亮眼。他六歲時就跟母親蘇席拉學下棋。在贏得勝利後，阿南德與母親有一段感性的對話。
蘇席拉說：「阿南德哽咽地說：『媽媽，我贏了。我二度成為世界冠軍。』」
阿南德的妻子阿汝娜．阿南德把阿南德的頭腦比喻為一台電腦。除了他的天賦，她說阿南德每天都花長時間致力精進棋藝。
阿南德這些年來得到了許多的小名。他二○○○年擊敗對手安南脫里．卡波夫時，就因為在世界西洋棋壇竄升的速度而被冠上「印度流星」的稱號。
他的太太聽到他被稱為「馬德拉斯之虎」笑得很開心。
伴隨丈夫四處比賽的阿汝娜說：「馬德拉斯沒有老虎。或許動物園裡有兩隻。」
不過，她說這個暱稱貼切描述阿南德下棋總是一派輕鬆，可是「一旦掌握優勢，就變成一頭出閘猛虎」的情況。
身材健壯還帶著付眼鏡的阿南德有一張圓圓的笑臉，他把時間都花在馬德拉斯、美國與馬德里，這些地方皆是他在歐洲錦標賽的據點。不過，他在印度被視為一位英雄。
《印度斯坦時報》指出：「因為西洋棋是一百六十一個國家公認的正式運動，他是我們唯一的全球人物。」
(法新社╱翻譯：艾利斯)
| OUT LOUD 對話練習 |
| Susan: What are you reading?
Grant: I'm reading a chess manual. Last night I beat my brains out trying to figure out how to beat Andrew but still couldn't win.
Susan: Why is Andrew so good at chess?
Grant: I'm not sure. I think he just is really good at thinking ahead.
Susan: He does always seem to come up with good plans.
蘇姍：你在看什麼呢？
葛蘭：我正在看一本西洋棋手冊。昨晚我想破頭想找出打敗安德魯的方法，不過我還是無法獲勝。
蘇姍：為何安德魯的西洋棋造詣這麼高呢？
葛蘭：我不知道耶。我覺得他對早一步思考很有一套。
蘇姍：他似乎總能想出好佈局。
beat one's brains out 絞盡腦汁
People who beat their brains out think really hard about something. For example, "He had to beat his brains out to do it, but Simon was finally able to solve the math problem."
「beat one's brains out」表示某人絞盡腦汁地想一些事情。例如：「雖然必須絞盡腦汁，不過賽門最後還是解開了這個數學題」。 |
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| SAY WHAT? 說說看 |
| take it easy 別急、放輕鬆
People who are taking it easy are relaxing. They might either be completely resting or doing work that isn't very strenuous. For example, "Harry had a busy day at work, so he decided to just go home and take it easy."
People who are taking it easy could also say they're chilling out. For example, "Beth was beat after running the marathon, so she just went home and chilled out."
人們正在「taking it easy」表示他們正在放鬆。他們可能是處於完全休息的狀態，或是正在做一件不會很艱辛的工作。例如：「哈利今天忙公事忙了一天，所以他決定回家好好放鬆一下」。
「take it easy」也可以用「chill out」來表示。例如：「貝絲跑完馬拉松後感到疲倦，所以就回家放鬆。」 |
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| TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 |
| 1. choking adj.
噎住的 (ye1 zhu4 de5)
例: His voice was choking when he was describing the crash.
(在描述車禍的情況時，他哽咽了。)
2. meteor n.
流星 (liu2 xing1)
例: Cleo was very excited to see a meteor.
(看到一顆流星，克里歐感到非常興奮。)
3. tournament n.
錦標賽 (jin3 biao1 sai4)
例: When is the tennis tournament?
(網球錦標賽何時舉行呢？)
4. bespectacled adj.
帶眼鏡的 (dai4 yan3 jing4 de5)
例: "It was that bespectacled man over there," Jess said.
(傑斯說：「就是那邊那位帶眼鏡的人。」) |
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