World chess champion Viswanathan Anand was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Rotary Club of Madras at a function here on Tuesday.
Accepting the specially-designed trophy from S. Gunashekar, Club president, Anand said, “I am deeply honoured to have received this award from an organisation that does so much good work”
The 40-year-old Grand Master then provided the audience with an insider's take on his recent championship match in Sofia with Bulgarian Veselin Topalov.
Important thing
“What is important is who makes the last mistake. Topalov cracked first, and that's all that mattered,” he said.
The occasion also marked the institution of a scholarship — the Rotary Club of Madras-Viswanathan Anand Chess Scholarship — which was awarded to 12-year-old M. Mahalakshmi, Tamil Nadu's current under-13 champion.
“When you're young all you need is a pat on the back and the feeling that people are behind you,” Anand said.
Venketrama Raja, president, Tamil Nadu State Chess Federation, said, “Anand has been one of the top players in the world for a long time.
“This shows how consistent he has been,” he added.
