Fans delight: Live feed and chess menu
By Venkat Krishna | ENS – CHENNAI
Published: 13th November 2013 12:10 AM
Last Updated: 13th November 2013 12:10 AM
It was 12.30 PM on Tuesday. A good two-and-half hours was left for the third round of the FIDE World Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. Excitement was slowly filling the air at Hyatt Regency -the venue for the event. With the first two rounds ending in draw the third round had some anticipation — but in a subdued manner.
But by 3 pm when World No.1 Carlsen and five-time world champion Anand made their entry and took their positions there were close to 500 people in the lounge watching the game on the live feed.
The lounge was filled with plenty of tiny tots who are taking part in the Under-9 chess as part of the promotion carried out by FIDE and All India Chess Federation. For starters, there are individuals in the hotel dressed up as King and Queen and there are chess ambassadors to help them regarding chess related queries and are kept occupied by middle-aged men and senior citizens. And by 4 pm the lounge was buzzing!
Kids might be too young to know the magnitude of the achievements by the Norwegian and the Indian but one parent was insisting his daughter to watch each and every move. As the game stretched beyond two hours there were some tense faces. “It’s going to be a draw again,” said a kid. And by the time Anand pushed Carlsen to the wall, “Anand will win” and “Anand will beat Carlsen” were the chorus.
There was even applause when Carlsen was running out of time. With the commentator on air saying Carlsen needs to make 9 moves in 10 minutes many were optimistic that Anand will draw the first blood. A touring journalist who was caught surprised with the number of children at the venue remarked: “The biggest achievement for Anand is that he has put India on the Chess map. These kids are here not just because they play chess but because they look at Anand as an inspiration.”
Hyatt Regency had done its best to keep both Anand and Carlsen at home. Carlsen, who is a fitness freak, has been hitting the gym regularly at the venue so far. And when queried on what special drills that Carlsen works on, a source close to him said: “Carlsen doesn’t want anything to be made public. If it happens then Anand might have an unfair advantage. Though the game is more about the mind, you cannot rule out the importance of physical fitness that goes hand-in-hand with mental strength.”
And for the foodies, Hyatt has included a chess menu in their restaurants. Norwegian preparations like smoked salmon, Norwegian salmon steak, cauliflower soup, asparagus, hollandaise, roasted nuts, mushroom casserole, puff pastry, potato cream are on offer at Focaccia to keep the old motto healthy mind being a happy mind intact. And if you also like to soak in the moment with a drink, then the Hotel bar provides you with special Norwegian Cocktails viz fennel and anise mojito, orange and pepper martini, Glögg, Karsk and sweet memories.
Source: http://newindianexpress.com
Kasparov is hogging the news.