Happy that so many people have discovered chess during pandemic: Vishy Anand

Chess has attracted many first-timers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive reach of the internet has made it a “truly global sport”, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand said to mark the first ever World Chess Day.

“Thanks to the internet, (chess) has become a truly global sport. I believe that it is never more widely disseminated as it is now,” Anand said in a virtual commemoration of the World Chess Day at the UN on Monday.

“And of course, during the pandemic, I’m very happy that so many people have discovered the game of chess. Perhaps they didn’t have the time or they never got around to it. But this has been a very good chance for chess to spread,” he said.

The former world champion said “most Indian parents are right” that chess will help their children do better in school.

“I hope that the current positive trajectory of chess that we have experienced recently will continue in the future, without pandemics even,” Anand said.

The high-level virtual event ‘Chess for Recovering Better’ bought together chess players, UN and governments officials, representatives of civil society and academia.

In December 2019, the UN General Assembly had proclaimed July 20 as World Chess Day to mark the date of the establishment of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924.

Over the past few months, the overall interest in chess is reported to have doubled, with more players than ever coming together to participate in chess events that are being increasingly held through online platforms, the UN said.

Anand told the virtual session that he had learned chess from his mother and highlighted the history and evolution of the game from India to other parts of the world.

He said a lot of families across India played chess with great enthusiasm.