Vishwanathan Anand has won the World Chess Champion and many have touted him to be a follower of strict vegetarian diet. In reality,  Anand eats fish too.

Many claim and have tried to collate facts and figures to tout that vegetarian diet can surpass a non-vegetarian diet in games, contrary to the opinion that meat and fish are great for brains.

The body does not discriminate between vegetarian diet and non-vegetarian diet, it just responds to the needs. Anything in moderate proportion has been found to be good for health. People who try to assert vegetarianism to be superior to non-vegetarianism are more prejudiced than rational.

Anand, the world champion’s diet

Anand in an interview said that he tries not to eat a heavy meal before playing. He generally eats pasta or maybe a light grilled fish and salad before a game. Normally he eats two hours before a game. While playing he likes to have a hot chocolate drink, or coffee or tea and maybe some sandwich.

If the game is too long he may even chew a chocolate. He usually has a heavy dinner is because after a game there is suddenly a release of tension and one feels hungry.

He has very balanced Breakfast, where he eats cereal, fruit and an egg.
 
The time of play determines the meal too. If the game starts in the afternoon then he just takes soup, a chocolate shake and a banana. Source: Hinduonnet

Aruna and Anand as a foodie couple

In an article by Brahmma Raju, Aruna, Anand’s wife told the scribe that both of them are foodies. They experiment a lot when it comes to food. Apart from trying her hand at Indian cuisine, she tries out cuisine from other countries as well. Whenever the couple goes to a restaurant and likes a particular food item, she gets into the kitchen and asks for the recipe.

During their stay in Mexico, Aruna said that Anand had taken a particular liking to Mexican seafood and he liked the lobsters there. Aruna also opined that just like our cuisine, the regional cuisines of Mexico too are varied…” Source: Chessbase

Bengalis love fish and the great number of Indian luminaries being Bengalis, fish is attributed to be the dietary secret of intelligent and beautiful Bengalis.