Chess pundits Vishy, Vidit and Soumya to join webinar by Maharashtra Chess Association

The outbreak of COVID-19 across the world has brought several changes in the way of our life. Sports, overall have come to a standstill, with most big tournaments from the English Premier League, the Olympics, IPL has been either shelved or delayed. However, while these sports had to face the wrath of the pandemic, chess found its way to carry on through these tough times. Not to exaggerate, but chess has thrived, which is clear through the data we have.

Video game versions of most sports entail entirely different skill sets from the real thing; manipulating a remote device from a couch bears little resemblance to being sacked by a 300-pound lineman. But online chess is essentially the same game, and when other sports were halted in March under a worldwide shutdown, fans were left starving for something to watch — and do. With newfound time on their hands, people have turned to online chess by the millions.

Viswanathan Anand Source: Viswanathan Anand/Facebook)

The Maharashtra Chess Association (MCA) is holding a webinar on Sunday where the point of focus will be on the challenges and opportunities the chess world have to offer in the times of the pandemic. The webinar will be conducted LIVE on Sunday morning at 11 AM on the Facebook page of Maharashtra Chess Association.

Some of the biggest names of India and world chess will be cnducting the webinar, which would include former World Chess Champion, and India's greatest ever Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. The webinar will also include the Director-General of World Chess Federation (FIDE), Israel's Emil Sutovsky. The other guests who will be joining the webinar are Dr. Nitin Kareer, Principal Secretary of Government of Maharashtra and ex-President of MCA; Bharat Singh Chauhan, Hon. Secretary of AICF, Chairman of FIDE TEC; WGM Soumya Swaminathan; India ranked 2nd GM Vidit Gujrati; Anirudh Deshpande, Chairman of Amanora Parktown.

The webinar will be moderated by Siddharth Mayur, President of MCA and Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte.

If you are a chess enthusiast or an amateur-level chess player then, this webinar will be the right platform for you to know about the possibilities chess has to offer. Don't forget to visit the MCA Facebook page on Sunday, 21 June 2020 at 11 AM IST.