Unfazed by row, Anand plays chess with 40 mathematicians

HYDERABAD - Unfazed by the row over his nationality, world chess champion Viswanathan Anand Tuesday played chess against 40 maths wizards simultaneously at the ongoing International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) here.

Moving from one table to another, the Grand Master made his moves with ease against 35 mathematicians and five nominees of software giant Infosys Technologies.

The maths wizards who took on Anand included 12-year-old Palden Ball from Britain.

According to the organisers of ICM, as many as 17 players including some eminent mathematics professors from India played against Anand.

Anand, a keen follower of developments in mathematics and science, later interacted with the delegates.

The world champion was unfazed by a controversy in which his nationality was questioned by the human resource development ministry, preventing him from receiving an honorary doctorate from the centrally-run University of Hyderabad.

The university cancelled a special convocation Monday where Anand was supposed to be conferred the honorary doctorate along with renowned mathematician David Mumford of Harvard University.

Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Anand has made Spain his second home but he continues to hold an Indian passport.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal intervened and apologised to the chess genius. He blamed the lapse on “procedural issues”. An acutely embarrassed university too said sorry to Anand.