Putin praises Russian, Indian chess schools
May 31st, 2012 - 8:47 pm ICT by IANSMoscow, May 31 (IANS) Russian president Vladimir Putin Thursday praised Russian and Indian chess schools and said they were among the best in the world.
Putin met Indian Grandmaster (GM) Vishwanathan Anand and Israeli GM Boris Gelfand after the FIDE World Championship which ended Wednesday with Anand’s narrow victory.
“I hoped to meet you here and in Israel. I have an invitation from Israeli leadership and I have a very good excuse to meet you both here and in your current homeland,” Putin told Gelfand.
“I hope you’ve played in our country not for the last time and will play again in other cities, not in Moscow only. These events undoubtedly make chess popular,” Putin said.
Gelfand told Putin that Moscow again reclaimed its position of “chess world capital”, reported Xinhua.
He believed this World Championship was “the best organized match in chess history” and would push chess development, because “millions of people in the world watched the match”.
The competition started May 10. The Indian grandmaster finished the 12-game competition in a 6-6 draw with the Israeli challenger Gelfand. Anand then successfully defended his chess crown in the tie-break of four extra games, winning 2.5-1.5.
The Indian grandmaster has been FIDE World Champion three times since 2007 when he won a tournament in Mexico.
Anand defended his title against Kramnik in Bonn in 2008, against Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov in Sofia in 2010. Now he will carry this title until 2014.
- Anand wins fifth World Chess title (Lead) - May 30, 2012
- Putin praises Indian chess schools for Anand's success - May 31, 2012
- List of Anand's victories (Factfile) - May 30, 2012
- World chess title to be decided in te-breaker - May 28, 2012
- Anand crowned World Chess Champion for fifth time (Second Lead) - May 30, 2012
- My 40-minute chess move was crucial: Gelfand - May 29, 2012
- World champion Anand still eager to learn: Grand Master Ganguly (Interview) - Jun 04, 2012
- Anand bids to be an all-time great (Profile) - May 30, 2012
- I don't pay much attention to critics: Anand - Jul 12, 2012
- Chess fraternity pays tribute to Anand - May 30, 2012
- Definitely no thoughts of retirement: Anand - Jun 03, 2012
- Too tense to be happy: Anand - May 30, 2012
- You've made the nation proud: PM to Anand - May 30, 2012
- Anand excited about playing in front of home crowd - Jul 13, 2011
- Anand's family elated at win - May 30, 2012
Tags: boris gelfand, chess crown, chess development, chess history, chess schools, chess world, extra games, fide world champion, fide world championship, game competition, indian chess, kramnik, narrow victory, president vladimir putin, russian president vladimir, russian president vladimir putin, tie break, veselin topalov, vishwanathan anand, vladimir putin