To help the thousands of children across the country born with a cleft palate or lip, 20 people from across the world battled Viswanathan Anand in games of chess on Monday as part of the ‘Chess for Smiles’ campaign.
“Every three minutes, a child is born with a cleft lip or palate, but a simple, 45-minute surgery that costs $ 240 could change the life of the child, her family, and possibly, even the community,” said William Magee, co-founder and CEO of Operation Smiles, the NGO that organised the campaign.
There are a number of factors that cause cleft palates or lips, including carbon monoxide inhalation, Vitamin B6 and folic acid deficiency and genetics. “Since the problem is multifaceted, the easiest solution is to treat children who are born with the problem,” Dr. Magee said.
The Chess for Smiles campaign has been on since August 2014. For the past five months, people have been competing for the chance to play a game of chess with Viswanathan Anand. Since the campaign started, 440 children in the country have had operations for their cleft palates and lips, one of the organisers said.
Of the 20 people from around the world who competed with Mr. Anand on Monday, 12 of them won in several rounds of competition conducted both face-to-face and virtually. The remaining eight were the highest donors for the cause.
