Nihal Sarin made an unusual move on Wednesday night. The chess prodigy, who became a Grandmaster (GM) at the age of 14 last week, went live on YouTube to collect money towards the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund, for the flood victims.
He analysed some of his games for an audience of chess enthusiasts from around the world. “When Chessbase India [a leading website for chess] suggested the idea to me, I was all for it,” Nihal told The Hindu from his home in Thrissur. “I was happy to be part of this initiative.”
By the time Nihal returned from Abu Dhabi, after making his third GM norm, many parts of the State were under water and the Kochi airport was closed.
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“My flight had to be postponed and I had to take a flight to Kozhikode,” he said. “My home wasn't affected by the flood, but we had no electricity for two days.”
The initial donation to Nihal's fund-raising programme was from Viswanathan Anand, five-time world champion.
“Anand had also spoken about it during the Sinquefield Cup tournament in the United States and that, we hope, would create more awareness about the flood situation in Kerala,” Abdul Salam Sarin, Nihal's father, said.
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