by Zainab Raza Undulusi in New Delhi
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen is yet to confirm what the Indian media and chess association have already announced! World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand will get to defend his world title in his home city of Chennai this year from November 6-26. The Tamil Nadu government has agreed to sponsor the event.
The world chess body (FIDE) will finalise the venue after Carlsen agrees to it. If Carlsen wants to avoid playing Anand in Chennai, he will have to find a sponsor and a place who would out-bid the one put up by Chennai. Anand will be playing in India for the first time in more than a decade. He instantly welcomed the decision. All the Indian chess fans are jubilant about the decision. The announcement was made in the Tamil Nadu State Assembly on Monday morning. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa declared that her government would sponsor the match which is estimated to cost around Rs 29 crore.
“I welcome the Chief Minister’s initiative and interest in promoting chess in the country. It’s a high for Indian chess. I’m looking forward to playing at home. The dynamics of the match will surely be different for me playing at home. It will be a new experience but I’m ready for the challenge. Pressure will be there anyways. This, after all, is a World Championship match," Anand told the media.
India lost the World Chess Championship bid last year to Moscow for Anand's match versus Israel's Boris Gelfand. The AICF had time up to April 10 to submit its bid failing which FIDE would have opened up the bidding process. DV Sundar, a vice-president with FIDE, earlier secretary of the AICF, said the proposal had been submitted in time.
Anand, a five-time world champion, last played in India in 2000 when the World Championship was organised in Delhi and Tehran in a knockout format. Anand went on to win the title beating Alexei Shirov in the final in Iran. The Indian super Grandmaster has been the world champion since 2007.
“I welcome the Chief Minister’s initiative and interest in promoting chess in the country. It’s a high for Indian chess. I’m looking forward to playing at home. The dynamics of the match will surely be different for me playing at home. It will be a new experience but I’m ready for the challenge. Pressure will be there anyways. This, after all, is a World Championship match," Anand told the media.
India lost the World Chess Championship bid last year to Moscow for Anand's match versus Israel's Boris Gelfand. The AICF had time up to April 10 to submit its bid failing which FIDE would have opened up the bidding process. DV Sundar, a vice-president with FIDE, earlier secretary of the AICF, said the proposal had been submitted in time.
Anand, a five-time world champion, last played in India in 2000 when the World Championship was organised in Delhi and Tehran in a knockout format. Anand went on to win the title beating Alexei Shirov in the final in Iran. The Indian super Grandmaster has been the world champion since 2007.
