Elsewhere on the Web : India's World Chess Champion

Sunday November 4, 2007

The popular conception of world class chess players often conjures up a combative and surly bunch. Two recent images of former World Chess Champions are Garry Kasparov battling police on Moscow streets or Bobby Fischer railing against authority from the confines of a Japanese jail.

What to make of Viswanathan Anand, who in September won the World Championship for the second time at Mexico City? Indian born Anand now lives in Spain, but ignites the sort of passion in his native country that is rarely seen elsewhere for top chess players. After winning the title, the amiable Indian was featured regularly in the pages of India's most prestigious newspapers.

A few weeks after winning the undisputed title, Anand travelled to India for a triumphant homecoming. More from The Hindu:

What is Anand like as a private person? • Title Two Sweet : 'Soon after their engagement, Viswanathan Anand went over to Aruna’s house one day, took out a chess board and proceeded to teach his soon-to-be wife the nuances of the 64 squares.' • At Home with the Master : 'Customs colony, Second Cross Street, a quiet by-lane in uptown Besant Nagar, Chennai, is no Collado Mediano, the picturesque Spanish town near Madrid where World Chess Champion, Vishwanathan Anand, and wife, Aruna, spend quiet days.' • [Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai)]

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