For Bollywood’s Mr Perfectionist, Aamir Khan, taking on India’s king of chess Vishwanathan Anand has not been an easy job!
For the 50-year-old Khan, who is a sports lover, it was an exciting moment to take on Grandmaster Anand on Friday night. But the actor, who is an amateur chess player, could not withstand the moves of Vishy on the chessboard, and had to give up in 10 to 15 minutes, flat.
But the message was clear – to promote chess. “I am an amateur chess player. Whenever I get time during the breaks on sets, I play…there are several good chess players…Shammi uncle (Shammi Kapoor), Paresh Rawal plays well and so is Ashutosh Gowarikar…and also Katrina (Kaif)…she is a good player,” the Lagaan star said.
“I was very excited to have got a chance to play with Vishwanathan Anand,” said the veteran star. The Aamir-Anand match took place at the launch of 3rd edition of Maharashtra Chess League (MCL). The auction was of six teams viz., Mumbai Movers, Pune Attackers, Jalgaon Battlers, Ahmednagar Checkers, Pune Tru Masters, and Thane Combatants, and had a bid amount of Rs 400,000 per team. “It is important that intelligent games like this be promoted intelligently,” said Khan, who has the knack for solving Rubik’s cube within seconds.
“Children exposed to chess at an early age tend to be good in academics too as they are intelligent, acquire analytical and critical thinking abilities,” said the Grandmaster and former world chess champion.
In the auction of MCL, Mumbai Movers acquired Grandmaster Koneru Humpy of Andhra Pradesh for Rs1,52,000. Pune Attackers acquired international master Padmini Rout of Orissa for Rs1,50,000. Jalgaon Battlers retained Grandmaster Vidhit Gujarati for Rs1,32,000.
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