Chennai: The first four games of the world chess cham pionship between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen may have ended in draws but there was no denying the fact that the meeting of two top players in the game attracted disparate people from various parts of the world. From diehard chess fans to casual observers, the footfall at Hyatt Regency has an eclectic mix.
For 59-year-old Joel M. Berez, chess is both a passion and a business. The American is president of http://www.chesscube.com, a popular portal to play the sport online with real people. “Chess is my life and it pays me, too," the avuncular man from the US said.
The USP of chesscube is an Indian schoolboy can play with a Brazilian IM without paying any money . Budding chess players who don't relish playing with machines all the time can bank on the site of Berez to take on homo sapiens.
Berez, on his first visit to India, was delighted to feel the buzz created by the game he loves. “India supplies the most number of users for our website. The chess interest in the country amazes me," he added. The American isn't worried about Anand's result against Carlsen. For him, “the epitome of gentleness has already secured a place in the pantheon of the game.“
Berez also has kind words to say about the Norwegian challenger. “Magnus is a great person with a great family,“ he added. Can Berez define chesscube in a sentence? “A friend with whom you can play chess any time of the day from anywhere in the world,“ was his blitz reply.
French journalist Nicolas Delesalle is in India for Carlsen. “I work for general entertainment magazine Telerama and we generally d o n ' t focus on chess. But people in France want to know more about Magnus. He's a fascinating personality with an interest in different sub jects. The Norwegian is young and handsome and he is world no. 1 in chess,“ he added.
Delesalle, an amateur chess player, isn't a big fan of the way chess is marketed. “Draws in the first two rounds here were uneventful. We need shorter matches to make the game more riveting. Who would have thought poker would become such a marketable sport on TV. Poker is dramatic. There is joy and tears. I hope chess also does something to catch people's attention,“ he said.
The Frenchman likes Anand but he is not a big fan of the Indian's political correctness all the time. “Chess needs colourful players at the top,“ he said.
