Chennai: Garry Kasparov was like Magnus Carlsen's best man at the Norwegian's wedding, during the third round of the world chess championship here on Tuesday.
But the Russian upstaged the groom in the end. Kasparov's arrival at the playing hall elicited loud applause -louder than the one that greeted Carlsen -from the audience, forcing Fide vicepresident D.V. Sundar to gesture for restraint.
What Kasparov may have found out in 24 hours of his stay in Chennai is his ability to garner atten tion. Even though the former world champion stopped playing competitive chess eight years ago, he continues to be the game’s biggest draw.
His resplendent record in a fabled career coupled with his knack to churn out worthy quotes mean Kasparov never faces the danger of being ignored wherever he goes.
Fide, India’s national chess body and the state chess association counted the cost of not taking cognisance of the legend’s presence on Monday. The red carpet that had been kept under wraps had to be rolled out during the third round.
Sundar who had maintained that the question of according an official welcome to Kasparov didn't arise at all, as the organising committee hadn’t received any communication from the Russian, accompanied the legend to the playing hall. The irony wasn’t lost on anyone. An official photographer recorded the occasion for posterity or an exigency.
Kasparov, it must be said, was the winner of the PR battle. The ‘persona non grata’ welcome that greeted one of the alltime greats of the game didn’t go down well with local players as well as fans. A young player said: “I don’t care what he has said or what he can say. I’m a chess player and he is a legend for me. He will always be. It’s sad that the administrators have taken on Kasparov, the person, rather than celebrating Kasparov, the player.”
The inevitable question on not allowing Kasparov inside the media centre did crop up during the post-match press conference, much to the embarrassment of the organisers. Carlsen said he wouldn’t get into politics only to do so in the next line. “Kasparov is a legend. Regardless of his opposition to Kirsan (current Fide president), he should be treated with respect,” he added.?
DC/ TN Raghu
She is in a way responsible for the pain Viswanathan Anand is enduring now. But Ellen Carlsen, the elder sister of Anand's challenger Magnus, said she isn't a rival to her brother and world No.1 any longer. Carlsen's greatest challenge as a boy was beating Ellen in a game of chess.
Elder to Carlsen by one-and-a-half years, Ellen has left chess to her little brother who is a big fellow now even for people who don't follow chess. “It's true that I was his first major opponent. But we stopped playing a long time ago. He plays much better now,“ she laughed, adding that the days of fighting with her brother have long gone.
Ellen, 24, has come to Chennai to have a firsthand experience of Carlsen's world championship match after her mother and two younger sisters completed their India trips.
Does she give chess advice to Carlsen? “I'm ready to but he won't listen,“ she said.
Ellen, a medical student, said she knew Carlsen was good at chess in his younger days but she never “imagined that he would become so good”. “Magnus was a normal kid. I’m delighted by the strides he has taken in his career. At the same time, I want to stress that Magnus would always be my little brother whatever he achieves,” she added.
Carlsen, a celebrity back home, is also adding new fans to his base here with each passing day. Chennai’s population is more than Norway’s as the Nordic country only has five million inhabitants. It may not be wrong to say more people know Carlsen in India than in his native country. “I’m proud to see what he is today. I’m amazed at the attention he is getting here,” she said.
Ellen knows her chess to predict the winner of the match in Chennai. She is sure that the world crown will go to Oslo. “Magnus will win,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. Has she planned any present to the champion-in-waiting? “It’s difficult to think of something which he doesn’t have. Maybe I will have dinner with him,” Ellen said.
Carlsen’s game is all about food for thought and he needs something for his stomach after the gruelling match with Anand ends.
WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP APP, A UNIVERSAL HIT ONLINE
WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP APP, A UNIVERSAL HIT ONLINE
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DC/ ?S Sujatha
Chennai: India is predominantly a cricket loving country and Sachin Tendulkar is just a Test away from retirement, but the world chess championship in Chennai has attracted plenty of attention, both physical as well as on TV, internet and mobile. The playing hall at Hyatt Regency is always full.
Statistics show that 150,000 people have watched it online on the official website in the first two days. Two hundred thousad viewed it on YouTube. About 12,000 people have downloaded the official FWCM (Fide World Championship Match 2013) Android app, while 30,000 people have downloaded the apps on iphone and ipad.
At the venue, as many as 150 people at a time are walking in and out of the playing hall to have a glimpse of the match in person, while about 300 are seated inside. According to lead com
mentator of the championship, Susan Polgar, the game is followed on television in 48 countries across the globe. “In other countries, I think the chess lovers will be following it on the internet,” she added.
Bharat Singh Chauhan, chief executive of the All India Chess Federation said that as many as 125,000 people in Norway had watched the games on TV. “There has not been so much of response for the previous world championships compared to the current one. This match is available on the mobile as an app for the first time. We have tried to reach maximum people in different modes,” Chauhan added.
According to Asim Pereira, who has developed the app on the Android platform, there has been a positive reaction from users. One of them, Saneel Tamhane said: “The FWCM app has allowed us to stay in touch with the live games even on weekdays.”
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?Official App downloads links: 1. Android http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pereira.wcc2013 2. iPad https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fide-world-chesschampionship/id730856137?mt=8 3. iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fide-world-chesschampionship/id730856316?ls=1&mt=8
With each passing day , the numbers of Norwegians increases at the Hyatt Regency here, as the world chess championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen inches towards the crucial stage. “As the games progress, we expect more Norwegians to come to Chennai. Carlsen's sponsors are also expected,“ said the challenger's manager Espen Agdestein.
Among them, there is a self-confessed fan of Anand too, who reached the city on Monday night. “I was look ing for an opportunity to meet Anand and what better chance than to meet him play for his sixth title against our boy Magnus,“ IM Kjetil Stokke told this paper. However, like all Norwegians, Stokke also wanted Carlsen to emerge winner.
“I have been following Anand’s game even before Magnus started playing chess. But I have never seen him in person. The last time, Anand played in Norway, I was away at work. So, I have made it a point to visit India during this historic match,” said Stokke, who works as an electrician on an oil platform, which is a one hour helicopter ride over the North Sea.
Having spent about Rs 2 lakh for his two-week visit, Stokke said that he would work overtime and save money next month. Another chess tourist, Tarjei J. Svensen, who went to the same chess school that Carlsen attended, is also in Chennai to watch the match.
“I have come to watch Magnus win. Anand is a legend and it is very difficult to beat him,” said Svensen.
