Viswanathan Anand 'not sure' of participating in the Candidates Tournament

Viswanathan Anand getting cold feet?

Former world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand said on Friday that he wasn’t sure about participating in the Candidates tournament.

Asked if he had decided about appearing in the Candidates tournament, the 44-year-old said: “No, not at the moment.

“I mean, most likely I won’t play. Zurich is the only confirmed event for me right now. There are many interesting invitations for the second half of the year. And possibly I will be playing in Ukraine, where I will be playing rapid.”

The winner of the tournament will get a crack at reigning champion Magnus Carslen of Norway next November. The Candidates tournament is the only way to qualify for the World title match. The Candidates tournament kicks off in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, on March 11, 2014.

If Anand who is currently world number 9, opts out of the Candidates meet, his spot will go to 21-year-old Fabiana Caruana of Italy, the world No. 7.

Anand claims that there is no looking back for him, and he has moved on after his last month’s loss to Magnus Carlsen.

“To be honest I have actually preferred not to do any of it (post-match analysis).

“I think sometimes you just accept that things can go horribly wrong and then it’s more important to recover and focus on the next tournament rather than be obsessive about what you did wrong,” he said.

“Clearly, there will be some broad lessons and they are accepted as well.”