Anand Felicitated In A Grand Manner

By Arvind Aaron

The greatest chess champion of the world, three time champion, Viswanathan Anand was felicitated by the All India Chess Federation in a manner nobody did before on his 39th birthday. In the ceremony that took place at the Ball Room of Taj Coromandel on Nungambakkam High Road, Chennai, on Dec 11, 2008, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Indian cricket team gave Anand a diamond ring on behalf of the All India Chess Federation.

Huge crowds came for the ceremony and most of them were chess players and the Indian cricket test players led by Rahul Dravid also showed up. In this ceremony N. Srinivasan, President of the AICF, who presided said, "in a country which is ruled by cricket, on that day (when he beat Kramnik) the nation's attention was on you. We would love to relive that day. We are truly proud of you. In my short term (President of AICF since 2001) as President of the AICF you have won twice. We would be happy to do this felicitation over and over again." When Anand won the World Title in 2007 at Mexico, Rahul Dravid, captain of the Indian cricket team was the chief guest and handed a trophy & Rs.10 lakhs to Anand.

When the Indian cricket team walked in, the media jumped to their feet. When Anand entered the hall, it became noisy and the 1000 audience clapped as he occupied his chair. When Anand and Dhoni greeted each other with a handshake, the flash lights were like lightning side the Taj. The ceremony was brief and complete by 40 minutes. The hall was full despite the short notice and all visitors were frisked and checked and had to go through the metal detector after what had happened in Mumbai on Nov 26.

"It is a happy moment not only for chess players but also for other sportsmen. I understand that the younger Indians are winning by drawing their inspiration from Anand. I am honoured to share the dais with you," said Dhoni about Anand. The diamond ring is said to be worth half a million Indian Rupees.

In his reply to felicitations, Anand said, he accepted the diamond ring from Dhoni is brotherhood. Anand thanked N. Srinivasan, President, AICF, for the active support for chess and this grand reception. D.V. Sundar welcomed the gathering and gave one of the most interesting speeches and introductions of chess players to the cricketers.

Later, the AICF arranged a dinner for the world champion and his family at Raintree Hotel in south Chennai. Here, many Indian age group champions and titled players got access to Anand. Among those who were present were GM Barua, GM Sasikiran, GM Ganguly, GM Ramesh, GM Deepan Chakravarthy, GM Arun Prasad, first IM Manuel Aaron, first IA V. Kameswaran etc. Officials and chess administrators, AICF Vice President Sameer Salgaocar, AICF Treasurer Bharat Singh Chauhan, AICF Secretary D.V. Sundar and officials from around India were present. From the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, President P.R. Venketrama Raja, Vice President J.C.D. Prabhakar, Secretary K. Muralimohan etc were present.

At the start of the dinner, Anand cut two cakes for his 39th birthday and certainly it was the most memorable birthday of his life. He also personally handed over cake slices to young talents like WGM Mary Ann Gomes, WIM Kruttika Nadig, World Under-12 champion Sayantan Das etc. December 11, 2008 will be one of the most memorable days in Indian chess for a long time to come.