KOCHI: As three-time defending champion Vishwanathan Anand battled past challenger Boris Gelfand in the FIDE World Chess Championship tiebreaker in far away Moscow, a bevy of Kochiites were glued to their computer screens on Wednesday. With almost every move in the 12-game match having been dissected and analysed with enthusiasm, the bustling community of chess-lovers in the city waited with bated breath as ‘Queens’, ‘Knights’ and ‘Bishops’ waltzed across 64 squares at the State Tretyakov Gallery in four rapid games to break the deadlock of draws. Former state champion M B Muralidharan, who runs the MBM Chess Academy in Kalamassery, was among the many who followed the contest keenly. “The World Championship has certainly created a buzz among the city’s chess-lovers,” Muralidharan told City Express as Anand registered a win over his Israeli rival in the second rapid game. “I have been receiving calls from many people on the different possibilities during the course of the games. We have also been analysing the Anand- Gelfand games in our academy,” he said. Another former champion, Ganesh Bhat too has been holding sessions at his GBR Chess Academy in Kaloor, with the Anand- Gelfand games as specimens. “Anand wasn’t his usual attacking self this time, but a world championship is always a top draw. A win is a win. It gives youngsters the inspiration to take chess seriously,” he said. Kerala’s leading female chess player, Nimmy George has just returned from the National Challenger Tournament in Tirupati. She said that she tracked the match at every point. “Many of us were in the middle of championships, some others are travelling, but we all managed to keep our laptops handy. Even the ones who are currently playing in Kolkata, were keeping a track of the game whenever they got an interval,” said Nimmy, giving an insight into the mood in the ‘circuit’. Abhijit M, another regular in tournaments, was glued to his laptop through the rapid games. “It was very exciting. We were watching every move. But the last championship (2010) was a little more pulse racing. This time, both players seemed to prefer draws rather than take risks,” he said. Anand’s win, the fifth world title in his illustrious career, in the Russian capital is sure to help increase the popularity of chess in the state, experts pointed out.
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