Grand preparations for grand championship match
By Ashok Venugopal – CHENNAI
Published: 16th October 2013 11:40 AM
The office of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and Tamil Nadu State Chess Association is a beehive of activity. Preparations are in full swing for the Viswanathan Anand vs Magnus Carlsen World Championship match to be played here next month.
With the Tamil Nadu government and SDAT giving their full support, the match promises to be a grand affair. Many chess buffs and players believe that it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for budding children to watch India’s greatest and one of the all-time greats in a World title bout.
Just like many in the cricket fraternity believe that one will never see another Sachin Tendulkar again, la player of Anand’s calibre is yet to be born in India according to chess aficionados!
“Obviously, preparations are in full swing. All of us are geared up for Anand’s match. It is a prestigious match for us and we will ensure that it is a grand affair that one will remember for a long time,’’ said V Hariharan, secretary, AICF.
“All of us at the office (AICF) leave home only around 10pm. All details of the officials, badges, accreditation badges, seating, stay of officials are being worked out,’’ he added.
DV Sundar, vice-president FIDE, too is doing his bit to organise the match in a professional manner. “As of now the players’ stay (both Anand and Carlsen) at the venue-hotel Hyatt Regency has been finalised. Both players’ seconds and managers have also been finalised.
“We expect both Anand and Carlsen to be here around November 1 or 2,’’ said Sundar. “Match officials will be here on November 6,’’ he added.
Ticket sales for Anand’s match have already begun and the response has been good.
The ballroom at the hotel can accommodate only around 350 to 400 spectators. VIP box tickets are no longer available and have been blocked.
“About 100 tickets have been sold. The seven VIP boxes with a seating capacity for eight and costing `3.25 lakh (season) have been blocked by corporates, so the response has been good,” said Sundar.
Bharat Singh, CEO, AICF, stated that the response to the official website of the Championship (www.chennai2013.fide.com) has been tremendous and is growing with each passing day.
Source: http://newindianexpress.com
Anand will crush Carlsen, then lose to Nakamura.
Agree. Nakamura is the only elite player who is still improving and pushing the boundaries of chess- he will destroy Anand when he gets his shot at the title.
No way. Nakamura chokes in big game situations. He will be exposed if matched up against either carlsen or anand