Too much mutual respect?

November 11, 2013 12:42 am | Updated November 16, 2021 08:02 pm IST

If you are at the lobby ofHyatt Regency, you will not fail to notice that chessis very much in the air. Photo: R. Ragu

If you are at the lobby ofHyatt Regency, you will not fail to notice that chessis very much in the air. Photo: R. Ragu

India’s first International Master Manuel Aaron says he is unhappy with the way the first two games panned out.

He says it is to the disappointment of millions of chess fans that Anand and Carlsen chose to play it safe.

“It is certainly disappointing,” he says.

“They didn’t try to win. Maybe they respect each other too much.”

‘The best chess pieces’

If you are at the lobby of Hyatt Regency, you will not fail to notice that chess is very much in the air.

There is the vast chessboard in black and white. And there are those big chess pieces too.

Those pieces are proving particularly popular with kids, and some of them could be seen playing with them as if they were toys.

“These are lovely chess pieces, the best I have ever seen,” says S. Aravindan, a budding chess player and Standard VII student in a Chennai school.

Nearly sold out

The event continues to attract people in large numbers. “The hall was nearly full on Sunday,” says P. Stephen Balasamy, one of the organisers.

“We sold 22 tickets (11 premium and 11 standard tickets) across the counter,” says an official. “Through online 51 premium and 40 standard tickets were sold.”

Knowledgeable crowd

For former table tennis players R. Hari and Pallavi Hari, watching the match on premium tickets was a novel experience. They said the excitement in the hall was contagious.

“It was fascinating listening to the discussion of those seated near us. They sounded very knowledgeable, as they predicted the game would end in a draw long before it actually did.”

True indicator of event’s popularity

When the auto driver speaks to you about an event in the city, you know it has truly arrived.

“I was surprised when the driver of the auto I came in spoke to me about the World championship,” says young International Master Prasanna Rao, who came to watch the action live on Sunday.

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