SACHIN DESERVES BHARAT RATNA: VISWANATHAN ANAND

Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand joins the chorus that Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar should be conferred with the highest civilian award, 'Bharat Ratna'

Calculated Moves

Dronavalli Harika has been winning laurels for the country regularly, gaining respect from her peers and critics alike.

Dronavalli Harika always gave an impression since childhood that she is destined to achieve big in chess, an activity she started after watching her father and elder sister Anusha dabble on the board. Proof of this rare trait was evident when she shocked the former world champion Maya Chiburdanidze in a third round game of the 2002 World Cup in Ramoji Film City (where India's best known face in chess world, Viswanathan Anand, emerged champion).

Cool attitude

It was a stunning display from the Guntur girl against a world champion for 18 years. The intensity and the cool-like-cucumber attitude of Harika stood out even as the focus was on the bigger names like Anand and Humpy from that World Cup.

That this gifted chess player achieved at the age of 12 against such an experienced campaigner was perhaps the first big indication of things to come. Amidst this backdrop, when the 20-year-old Harika has become only the second Indian woman after Koneru Humpy to win the Grandmaster title in men's category to join about 20-member elite group in the world it was, perhaps, not a big surprise.

Silent killer

A product of the Sri Venkateswara Bala Kuteer School, Harika is always known in chess circles as the ‘silent killer'. One vividly remembers how composed she was, for Standard VIII student then, to down Maya in that World Cup. The way she seized on a blunder from the famous rival on the 33rd move to gain an exchange was the spark of a genius in the making as it saw Maya's rook trapped and force her to resign after 53 moves. Interestingly, Harika, now a Business Management student, is still coached by Narahari Venkata Sita Rama Raju. “I owe a lot to him. He, like my family members, has been a great source of strength and inspiration,” acknowledges the champion player.

No big talk

For someone who was the youngest Indian girl to win the National ‘B' championship, Harika never really talked big. She preferred to let her performances on the 64 squares speak even as she cornered the best of the opponents with her amazing repertoire. If Harika has developed some sort of a knack of winning big titles just when critics were trying to raise their heads, it is purely because of her commitment and hard work. “In chess, you don't get results immediately. It is a totally different world altogether where you have to keep improving with each game,” she says. Some of the big achievements of Harika include the silver in the Commonwealth chess championship in Mumbai, winning three World youth chess championship titles—in 2004, she won the girls under 14 in Greece, in 2006 she won the girls Under 18 in Georgia and in 2008 the World juniors.

“Yes, Arjuna Award is something special. It gives you a rare feeling that your efforts and sacrifices are recognised,” recalls Harika about the award she got in 2007. “Definitely, the award and the Grandmaster men's title are two of the most memorable achievements for me,” says Harika, who loves to watch entertainment movies and cooking if she has the time.

For the record, Harika has been on a different plane in the last 12 months, winning bronze in the 2010 Asian Games women's individual event, being a quarter-finalist in the prestigious 2010 Women's world championship, a silver medallist in the 2011 Commonwealth chess championship in South Africa, winning the 2011 Asian women's individual title.

“I am enjoying the sport. The ultimate dream is to be a world champion. I will play the game till I achieve that. There is no deadline for that,” she says. Thankfully for Harika, with Airports Authority of India and Pune-based Lakshya supporting her in a big way she is not overtly bothered on the financial front.

“It is like this. Thanks to these two organisations, I can focus on my game more,” she says. Interestingly, Wipro supported her and this helped to take part in some of the big events then.

Dronavalli Ramesh, Deputy Executive Engineer in Panchayat Raj (Amaravati), and mother Swarna agree that Humpy and Harikrishna have had a major influence on their daughter. “She is very keen to reach their levels of excellence,” say the proud parents. But, it is obvious that Harika is now clearly stepping out of the shadows of the two more familiar names of Indian chess, keen to script her own piece of history.

Topalov Beaten by Anand in Amber Chess Tournament

World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India defeated Bulgarian challenger Veselin Topalov 1.5-0.5 in the first round of the Amber blindfold and rapid chess tournament.

Anand got off to a flier in the final edition of this unique event winning the blindfold game with white pieces and signed peace in the rapid to get another good result against Topalov, who did not figure in any super tournaments in the past few months, The Times of India points out.

In May 2010, Bulgaria's top chess player and former World Champion Veselin Topalov Veselin Topalov was defeated by India's Viswanathan Anand , who retained his world chess title after winning by the narrowest of margins 6:5 in Bulgaria's capital Sofia. Prior to that, Topalov defeated Kamsky in his last challenge before the title match.

In February 2011, it was announced that Topalov is launching a new bid for the world title.

His bid to reclaim his title is set to begin with the Candidates Matches in May 2011.

The winner of the Candidates Matches 2011, scheduled by FIDE to be held in Kazan, Russia, from May 3rd to 27th will qualify to challenge the World Champion Vishwantath Anand in a 12-game match during the first half of 2012.

The other pairs of contenders are Boris Gelfand (Israel) – Shekhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbajan), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) – Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan), Levon Aronian (Armenia) – Alexander Grischuk (Russia)

The pairings are organized in such a way that Kramnik and Topalov could only meet in the finals in the third match, however, one wonders what will happen in the event that Topalov does qualify to meet either Kramnik or Grischuk, considering that the Bulgarian's manager previously declared that Topalov would not play against a Russian on Russian soil.

Anand finishes second in Tata Chess; Nakamura champion

Wijk Aan Zee : Five times winner Viswanathan Anand had to be content with a second place finish following a draw with Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in the 13th and final round of 73rd Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.

The World Champion could draw a big consolation from the fact that he would be the number one ranked player all over again as the results here proved that he will be overtaking world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the next rating list.

Hikaru Nakamura of United States owns the title after drawing his final round game with Wang hao of China.

For the records, Nakamura tallied 9 points in all, a half point more than Anand in this category-20 super tournament between 14-players.

The American not only performed way beyond his rating of 2751 but also finished ahead of the world's top four ranked players.

Anand got the better position with his black pieces but could not find a breakthrough AS Nepomniachtchi simply got an impregnable position in the endgame arising out of a Sicilian defense game.

The Indian ace settled for a draw in 37 moves.

"Disappointing," Anand said after the final results were out.

"When I reached a plus-four score (Four wins and rest draws), I felt I was well on my way to a final victory but Hikaru just kept winning, picking up six points in a row, which was quite amazing.

"But I'm not unhappy; it's difficult to be unhappy with a plus-four score. It's a pity I didn't manage to win the tournament but I think I performed above my rating, which isn't bad at all," the World Champion said.

The third place was shared by Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian of Armenia who both scored 8 points apiece. The last round of the tournament turned out to be a damp with all the games ending in draws for the first time in the event this year.

India keen to host Anand's 2012 world title match? Read more: India keen to host Anand's 2012 world title match?

CHENNAI: India would most probably host Viswanathan Anand's world chess title match in 2012. India's decision to join the fray came after London withdrew its bid to host the match last week.

Though the FIDE (world chess federation) had not confirmed the venue because the qualifying matches (Candidates phase) to identify the challenger to Anand were still in progress, the London organizers wanted an agreement to be reached by January 29, 2011.

FIDE had its presidential board meeting in Turkey last weekend which was attended by All India Chess Federation secretary DV Sundar. "The meeting did not discuss any bid in detail," Sundar told TOI. "But we offered to host the match in India," added Sundar, who is also the vice-president of FIDE.

London was projected as the city to host the match since 2009 but the sponsors found it difficult to finalize the deal with FIDE. At the moment, only Anand is the sure candidate for the match and his challenger would emerge from a series of Candidates matches to be held this year. "FIDE can't finalize any venue before the Candidates matches are over in May because the venue should be acceptable to the challenger as well. So the bids would be finalized only in May. Unfortunately, London said they could not wait that long," said Sundar.

This is not the first time that Anand's world championship matches have run into problems. The last championship match between Anand and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria had sponsorship problems but then Bulgaria stood behind its candidate (Topalov) and offered the maximum bid to seal it.

But this time the Indian federation seems ready for the big match. The last time the country hosted a world championship match in 2000 in New Delhi, Anand went on to win the title for the first time, though the final was held in Tehran.

"London has been a probable venue for the world championships since 2009 and the sponsors had shown keen interest in staging the event. I have not been involved in the negotiations so I can't comment on what has transpired. The world championships in 2012 would be one of the most closely-contested matches, personally for me it would be a very big challenge," said Anand, who reached Chennai on Sunday after the Wijk aan Zee tournament.

Anand's wife and manager Aruna said Anand would be happy to play the match in India but she was not sure about the Indian bid. "Anand has played three FIDE world championship matches in India and he has done well here. It would be a good challenge," she told TOI.

If India finally gets the nod, Chennai is the city that looks likely to host the match. AICF has already decided to host the world junior chess championship this year here and the 2012 match could be the grand finale.

Chess: The calculations of Vishy Anand

Over the next few weeks we are going to be looking at games by the world champion Vishy Anand. He recently regained the no 1 spot on the rating list, so this seems a fitting moment to feature his play. His depth and speed of calculation marked him out as a special talent in his youth, and he has lost none of that sharpness in his maturity.

RB What is the white knight doing on g5? This was the first thing to strike me when Dan sent me this position. Has it just captured a piece? Has it been trapped? Has there been a whole series of bloody exchanges on that square? Is it a time-pressure blunder? I couldn't work it out, so I looked up the game on chessgames.com and saw that, no, actually, Short has just played the knight from a safe square – h3 – to its present perilous location, and he would only have done so if he believed the piece was immune. The trouble is, I don't believe it. I say trouble because I am a long way behind Short.

You can see at once how, after taking on g5, Black could end up with connected pawns on h4, g5 and f5, which would be very nice. But you can also see a little problem, which I ran into at the first attempt: 1...hxg5 2 fxg5 Nxg5, and immediately you get the point – 3 Qxh4+, with a very bleak future for the black king. Does that mean the knight is immune? I think Short miscalculated because I don't see anything wrong with 1...Nxg5 2 fxg5 hxg5, when Black is simply a pawn up.

DK Black might be a pawn up, but with his king exposed it's not so simple. Short continued with a further sacrifice: 3 Bxg5 Bxg5 4 Qe2, threatening a check on h5, which he thought was winning. But Anand had seen a step further: 4...Qd6 is the only move, but it's good enough. After 5 Qh5+ Qh6 blocked and the attack was over. All planned by Anand before he took the knight on g5.

Levon Aronian is 3rd chess player in the world

Levon Aronian overpassed Veselin Topalov with his FIDE rating after the brilliant performance he had in the 39th World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk. Armenian grandmaster is currently the third among the strongest chess players of the world with 2793,8 rating. Magnus Carlsen leads with 2810,7. Viswanathan Anand is second with 2800,0. Veselin Topalov has 2785,5, Vladimir Kramnik - 2779,6, according to the Armenian chess federation.

By the way, October 6th is Levon's birthday. Our warmest greetings to him!

Viswanathan Anand on CWG mess

NIIT & IGNOU LAUNCH CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN CHESS AS MIND BOOSTER

Pune, 23 September, 2010: NIIT, leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia’s largest IT trainer, and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), world’s largest Open University, have come together to launch ‘Certificate Program in Chess as Mind Booster’, to enable development of young minds through Chess. The program was unveiled by World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. Also present on the occasion were Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU; Prof. K.R. Srivathsan, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU; Sh. Udai Singh Tolia, Registrar, IGNOU and Mr. P. Rajendran, Chief Operating Officer, NIIT. Dr. Anita Priyadarshini, Director, DEP-SSA and convener, welcomed the gathering.

The program aims to encourage young students to play Chess which would enable young minds to develop, and subsequently help them to think logically and improve their life skills. Also, under the guidance of Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, IGNOU and NIIT will work towards extending the - NIIT MindChampions Academy across the country. The program will help the students to learn the game, practice, solve puzzles, analyze great moves, enrich their knowledge on Chess history and expose them to games of eminent players. Students will get an opportunity to play with Anand and participate in the annual ChessMaster.

Anand backs CWG-bound Indian athletes

World chess champion Viswanathan Anand is more concerned about how many medals India would win in the Commonwealth Games than the controversies in the run-up to the mega event, scheduled to kick off here on October 3.

“I don’t know the details of the preparedness but I’m concerned about the number of medals we would win. I hope our athletes will win medals in the Delhi Games,” Anand said while wishing Indians luck.

Anand also said that the row over his citizenship is history now and the honorary doctorate degree will be conferred on him very soon.

“We have set a future date,” said Anand.

Anand, an Indian passport holder who has lived and trained in Spain for a while, was to be conferred the degree by the University of Hyderabad but what was supposed to be a simple ceremony, snowballed into a major controversy when it emerged that the Human Resource Development Ministry had questioned Anand’s citizenship.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal had to step in and settled the issue by offering an apology to Anand.

Asked about the future of chess in India, Anand sounded optimistic. “We have just crossed million students in NIIT Mind Champions Academy and they play 20 games on the server.

“It’s very exciting as millions of kids are learning everyday. We will identify some talents. Five to 10 years from now, you will see the result,” Anand said.

Srikar's feat impresses Viswanathan Anand

He loves to play with numbers and solve problems. He is one of the youngest even to present a paper during the ongoing International Congress of Mathematics at Hitex Convention Centre here. Srikar Varadaraj, the 10th standard student from Bangalore, also went on to achieve a rare feat.

This 14-year-old lad was the cynosure being the only one of the 40 engaged in simultaneous chess with reigning world champion Viswanathan Anand, to force a creditable draw as all the others lost their games.

“I was busted by his tenacity,” was the remark from Anand later. For someone who takes every game seriously -- be it against an eight-year-old or a Grandmaster by his own confession -- the world champion revealed that at one particular stage, he seemed to be even losing. But when the young opponent missed a ‘line', Anand fought back to salvage a draw.

“It was real fun. I first came to know about Anand's greatness through my father sometime back. So, it was a wonderful feeling to draw the game against him,” said the unassuming Srikar.

'Goof-up over Anand's citizenship unfortunate, disappointing'

NEW DELHI: The row over Viswanathan Anand's citizenship might have settled down with an apology from the Human Resource Development Ministry but the controversy drew sharp reactions from the chess wizard's fellow athletes, who called the goof-up unfortunate.

Anand, who holds an Indian passport but lives in Spain, was to be conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Hyderabad but what was to be a simple ceremony snowballed into a major controversy when it emerged that the HRD ministry had questioned Anand's citizenship.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal later apologised to Anand but the chess champion had already expressed his inability to accept the doctorate right now.

Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra said the episode was disappointing considering it involved an athlete of Anand's stature.

"Obviously what has happened is very disappointing. He is a big hero. I don't exactly know the details but he must get all the respect. I hope all Indian athletes get the respect they deserve," Bindra told reporters on Tuesday.

"It is disappointing for an Indian athlete who is already working so hard to do well for the country. He or she should get their due.

"As for Anand, he has been doing it for India for such a long time. I mean, he isn't doing it for money or anything else, he is doing it for the pride of the country. If an athlete does so much for the country, he should get the respect he deserves. It is unfortunate when he doesn't," he added.

Star billiards player Michael Ferreira said it seemed like an avoidable goof-up by the bureaucracy.

"It is just a monumental blunder by the HRD people. I don't think it was directed against sportspersons, but obviously it is quite disappointing and I feel the the HRD ministry should have checked everything properly because Anand is a four-time world champion," he said.

"The resultant insult and humiliation can be felt by all. It is very unfortunate," he added.

Chess Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay felt the controversy was sad comment on the shoddy state of affairs in Indian administration.

"As an Indian, I feel ashamed and embarrassed if this is the way our law works. Anand always had a Indian passport and though I appreciate Mr Sibal offering an apology, his ministry should have been more careful in checking the details about Anand before putting up such a question," he said.

An embarassed Sibal spoke to Anand and is understood to have urged him to accept the award. The University of Hyderabad then decided to confer the doctorate to Anand on a later date.

"I told him that the honorary degree could be conferred today itself. He indicated to me that he had some problem about this evening. Then I told him any date of his convenience for the function was okay. He has accepted it," Sibal told a press conference.

Vishwanathan Anand - India's Greatest Sports Personality

Viswanathan Anand is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion. He is one of the greatest sports personalities of India. In fact Vishwanathan Anand has received the highest sports award, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, as well as the second highest civilian award, the Padma Bibhushan, from the Government of India as recognition of his immense contribution in sports and making India taking pride in his success.

He was born in 1969 in chennai, India. He learnt the game from his mother, susila visawanathan, at the age of six.

He held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the world title was split. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. With this win, he became the first player in chess history to have won the World Championship in three different formats: Knockout, Tournament, and Match. He then successfully defended his title in the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov.

Anand is one of five players in history to break the 2800 mark on the FIDE rating list, and in April 2007 at the age of 37, he became the world number-one for the first time. He was at the top of the world rankings five out of six times, from April 2007 to July 2008, holding the number-one ranking for a total of 15 months. He has won the annual event Monaco Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Championships in years 1994, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2006. He is the only player to have won five titles of the Corus chess tournament. He is also the only player to win the blind and rapid sections of the Amber tournament in the same year (twice: in 1997 and 2005). Anand won three consecutive Advanced Chess tournaments in Leon, Spain, after Garry Kasparov introduced this form of chess in 1998, and is widely recognized as the world's best Advanced Chess player, where humans may consult a computer to aid in their calculation of variations.

His game collection, My Best Games of Chess, was published in the year 1998 and was updated in 2001.

Anand is sometimes known as the 'Tiger of Madras'.

Viswanathan Anand at Marg Chennai Marathon Dinner

Marg Chennai Marathon Dinner was organized last evening at Raintree hotel, Chennai and the event was star studded with the presence of whos who of Chennai. We’ll bring you more updates on this all through this week.

One of the noted celebrity to attend the Marg Chennai Marathon dinner was Chess Legend Viswanathan Anand. Vishy needs no introduction and is truly an inspiration to thousands of youngsters, including this writer.

Here’re a few photos of Vishwanathan Anand, clicked by Kiruba Shankar, CEO, BusinessBlogging Pvt Ltd

Anand aids blind Indian chess team

Viswanathan Anand has come forward and lent both monetary and psychological support to the National Blind Indian chess team.

The team is scheduled to take part in the World Blind Chess Championship at Belgrade, Serbia from 26th August to 4th September 2010.

Players from more than 40 countries are expected to participate in this event.

All India Chess Federation For The Blind (AICFB) is sending the Indian team of blind chess players for this prestigious event.

The Indian team comprises of 16-year-old Darpan Inani from Gujarat, National Blind Champion, Srikrishna Udupa from Karnataka.

(Winner of Individual Gold medal at the 13th Chess Olympiad for the Blind in 2008), Ashwin Makwana from Gujrat and Rajesh Oza from Maharashtrahave qualified to represent India at this meet.

QBR reaches Chennai city

A sudden downpour gave way to bright sunlight and unexpectedly to extreme sultry conditions. But nobody was complaining as enthusiasm was high and the settings were perfect for the launch of the Chennai leg of the Commonwealth Games-Queen's Baton Relay on Friday.

Hundreds of schoolchildren had lined up the relay route waving tiny flags and balloons and at the starting point — Island Grounds — a tastefully decorated dais awaited the dignitaries for the occasion. Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Sports and Environment Minister T.P.M. Mohideen Khan, Tamil Nadu Olympic Association President B. Sivanthi Adityan and Chief Secretary K.S. Sripathi were present.

Alongside, there was another raised platform where schoolchildren in colourful attires caught the attention with their dance performances to music, which included the now familiar ‘Waka waka' of FIFA World Cup South Africa fame.

Soaked in sweat, thanks to the hyper humidity, the eminent sportspersons waited for their turn to get into focus and it did not take long for the brief function to get underway with the arrival of Mr Stalin. In keeping with the protocol, the Queen's Baton, brought onto the stage by Raj Kadyan, Additional Director-General, QBR Organising Committee, was handed over by him to Mr. Adityan who in turn passed it on to Mr. Stalin in the presence of Mr. Mohideen Khan.

Chess champion Viswanathan Anand and Olympian athlete V. Jayalakshmi came on together to receive the baton from the Deputy Chief Minister even as other leading sports persons — Ramesh Krishnan, V. Baskaran, V.J. Philips, R. Gnanasekaran, Sebastian Xavier, Mohd. Riyaz, G.E. Sreedharan, Joshna Chinappa, Shiny Wilson and Wilson Cherian — got ready for the first lap.

Cheers rent the air, even if a touch of chaos crept in, as the small group of sportspersons led by Anand and Jayalakshmi, surged ahead. Other runners joined in, while the long convoy of vehicles made a slow start in front. The first lap stretched to not more than 100 metres, up to the exit of the enclosed venue, of the near 5 km route to the Indoor stadium.

In addition, around 50 well-known sportspersons from various disciplines stood in readiness at different points en route to keep the chain going.

The hour-long relay ended at the Nehru Indoor stadium where the Additional Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi received the baton from athletes Charles Boromeo and Angela Lincy. He expressed happiness over the successful exercise. The day's programme culminated with cultural programmes and release of a special postal cover by the Chief Postmaster-General. Mr Sripathi received the first cover. On Saturday, the baton will proceed to Puducherry.

Anand lends monetary support to visually impaired players

NEW DELHI: In a kind gesture, Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is giving financial support to Indian team in their preparation for the World Blind Chess Championship to be held in Belgrade, Serbia from August 26 to September 4.

All India Chess Federation for the Blind General Secretary Charudatta Jadhav said Anand has been taking keen interest for the development of visually impaired chess players in the country and this was the first time he has lent financial and psychological support to them.

"I don't want to disclose how much amount he has given to us for the preparation of the players for the World Championships but he has been taking keen interest for their welfare for some time. It is a kind gesture from him," Jadhav said.

"Anand has also pledged more support in future. He is particularly keen on introducing technology among the visually impaired chess players. He felt the players are lacking in the preparations," he said.

The Indian team comprises of 16-year-old Darpan Inani from Gujarat, national blind champion Srikrishna Udupa from Karnataka, winner of gold medal in 13th Chess Olympiad for the Blind 2008 Ashwin Makwana from Gujrat and Rajesh Oza from Maharashtra.

All four players had qualified for the world event after securing top four places at National A Chess Championship for the Blind held in Mumbai in April.

Anand who has followed the exploits of our players has come forward with both monetary and technical help. He has personally helped Darpan and the General Secretary of the Federation, Charudatta Jadhav.

"I am very proud to see these players go for the World Championships. It has been a very difficult task for them to get ready for the event. I have seen the kind of dedication and also in training for the event and I hope people will come forward to offer support and sponsorship for the talented visually impaired players," Anand said in an AICFB release.

"We have a strong team this time and we are expecting good results," said Jadhav who is accompanying the team.

Anand to play against 40 players simultaneously

Hyderabad: Hyderabad is all set witness a spectacular chess match between the grandmaster Viswanathan Anand who will play against 40 players simultaneously.

According to the organisers of ICM International Congress of Mathematicians 2010, 40 participants have been chosen for simultaneous chess play.

"As many as 17 players including some eminent mathematics professors are from India," said an official from the organizing committee.

The official said some expert mathematicians form all over the world will also take part in the match which will be held on August 24.

Anand is said to be a keen follower of developments in mathematics and science. One of his favourite books which he often refers to is Andrew Hodges's 'Inner Life of Numbers'.Hyderabad: Hyderabad is all set witness a spectacular chess match between the grandmaster Viswanathan Anand who will play against 40 players simultaneously.

According to the organisers of ICM International Congress of Mathematicians 2010, 40 participants have been chosen for simultaneous chess play.

"As many as 17 players including some eminent mathematics professors are from India," said an official from the organizing committee.

The official said some expert mathematicians form all over the world will also take part in the match which will be held on August 24.

Anand is said to be a keen follower of developments in mathematics and science. One of his favourite books which he often refers to is Andrew Hodges's 'Inner Life of Numbers'.

Arbiters to Hear Lawsuit Against World Chess Federation

A lawsuit against the World Chess Federation will be heard by arbiters at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Sept. 15 and 16, two weeks before an election for the presidency of the federation.

The lawsuit by five national federations and the presidential campaign of Anatoly Karpov is seeking to have the ticket of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the incumbent, disqualified.

The election is to be held near the end of the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Olympiad begins Sept. 19. The campaign, which has been quite nasty at times, seems too close to call, though Ilyumzhinov says that he has enough votes to be re-elected.

The lawsuit, which includes as plaintiffs the national federations of the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland and Ukraine, challenges the legitimacy of Ilyumzhinov’s nominations by Russia, Argentina and Mexico. It also questions the nominations of Beatriz Marinello for vice president on Ilyumzhinov’s slate. As each candidate is required to have a slate to fill each major office in the federation, and to have at least one candidate be a woman, the lawsuit is trying to invalidate Ilyumzhinov’s candidacy by eliminating Marinello from his ticket.

If the arbiters should rule in favor of the plaintiffs, it might make the election moot, though there is no way to know how quickly the court may decide. But the lawsuit was filed on July 8, so the court seems to be moving quickly.

Electric chess set lights up your day

Benrt Blake, architect, design consultant and competitive chess player has come up with a pretty unique chess set that has never been seen before. This electric chess set will rely on a plethora of plug bases, sockets, bulbs and ceramic elements as its main components. As for the board surface, a mirrored plexi glass board will see action while a white laminate base helps add to the aesthetics of the design. With transparent, colored and clear bulbs being used as typical chess pieces instead of relying on the traditional shape and form, it will definitely take some getting used to before the colors are associated with chess pieces naturally. Having said that, brainiacs shouldn't have too much trouble adapting to the new color-coded system. A dimmer control is also included to determine the brightness level of the bulbs.