Why doesn't Anand play in the Olympiads?

[MJMcCready]

Hi all, so as the title suggests, my question is 'Why doesn't Anand play in the Olympiads?' Is it something to do with protecting his rating? I've heard him speak many times about his pride at inspiring the younger generation to come through in his country and turn it into a major force in the chess playing world yet he never represents his country...or hasn't for some time now.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Haven't the last few occasions been close to his WC matches?

[MJMcCready]

Possibly but his opponent played at Tromso, so Anand could have also.

[Niall Doran]

I think it would have been very difficult for Carslen to refuse to play on home turf, especially considering he gets quite a bit of media attention in Norway.

[Matt Mackenzie]

And his form at that event was distinctly patchy, somewhat unsurprisingly.

[Arshad Ali]

Possibly but his opponent played at Tromso, so Anand could have also.

Anand's getting on a bit and unlike Carlsen, who's twenty years younger, has to husband his declining reservoirs of stamina.

[JustinHorton]

Of course simply Googling Anand Olympiads provides some useful links, including this one.

[Stephen Saunders]

Anand was a 17-yo IM when he first played top board for India in an Olympiad (Dubai 1986). ISTR he had scored his first-ever win against a GM (Jon Mestel!) around the same time. Anybody might think that 20 years of playing Olympiads is enough, give the younger guys a chance, etc

Larsen was another top player who disliked Olympiads, as I recall.

[MJMcCready]

Yes, I am aware that he played in them in his youth, I just wondered why he stopped.

[Brian Towers]

Rumor has it that there is some seriously hard partying which goes on at these events. Maybe he just can't take the pace like he did when he was younger? Does he still drink pints? Or is he down to halves?