Vishy Anand is a big fan of Messi

Back home after claiming his fourth World Chess Championship title, Viswanathan Anand is now keenly following the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, particularly Argentina's star striker Lionel Messi.

"Personally, I like to watch Messi. He is my favourite and I see Argentina to go all the way through," said Anand, at a promotional event in Kolkata on Monday.

"But Spain (the Euro champions) too are quite good. I was very impressed with their football during the Euro championship. They and Argentina are pretty much my favourites. With such a big event going on, you would not like to miss the action. I am trying to watch as many matches as possible," he added.

Anand has a few tournaments lined up at the end of this year and he is yet to begin practice.

"He will play in the London Chess Classic in December and there will be a couple of other tournaments lined up before that," wife Aruna said.