Chief Minister Inaugurates Event In Colourful Opening Ceremony

Chief Minister Inaugurates Event In Colourful Opening Ceremony
By Arvind Aaron & RR Vasudevan

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Ms J Jayalalithaa inaugurated the World Chess Championship Match at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on November 7, 2013.

The two hour ceremony was marked by splendid cultural shows by Indian Bharathanatyam dancers and musicians and also by the five Norwegian theme dancers.

Seven of Tamil Nadu’s young chess stars led world No.1 ranked Magnus Carlsen finally to the podium and he shook hands with champion Viswanathan Anand, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa before he took his place on stage.

The Chief Minister who also released the souvenir handed the first copy to the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. The FIDE President handed over a certificate of Honorary Member of FIDE to the Chief Minister.

While inaugurating, the Chief Minister picked Anand from one box and black from the other. So, Anand will play black in games, 1, 3, 5 in the first half. From games seven the colours will reverse in the second half with Anand playing white in games 7, 9 and 11. So, Anand will play white in games 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 11.

Carlsen will play white white in games 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12. The event will be a 12-game contest with the first player to reach 6.5 winning the title.

The full house ceremony saw about 20,000 people attend the opening ceremony. The Chief Minister was all praise for Anand and listed his accomplishments in his career in her well researched speech.

Anand is an epitome of chess in India. The atmosphere in Chennai is charged with intellectual voltage, said the Chief Minister. She commended Anand’s consistency which is a result of his single minded devotion to the game.

The who is who of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Indian and World Chess were present. The Sports Minister K.C. Veeramani welcomed the gathering. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, FIDE President gave his Presidential address. Tamil Nadu State Chess Association President, P.R. Venketrama Raja proposed a vote of thanks.

The audio visual show commenced with the origin of chess, and Tamil Nadu’s contribution to Indian chess provided plenty of information. During the ceremony, the anthem of FIDE, Norway and India were played.

Both the players who attended the opening press conference earlier in the in smart casual dresses were present in formal dresses with tie and jacket.

The World Chess Championship match will commence with the first of 12 games on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Teynampet in Chennai.