SINGAPORE: Outside the usual fan zone within the playing venue for the ongoing chess World Championship, an unmistakable buzz filled the air. Ten chess boards were neatly arranged, each set with all the pieces in place.
A small notice, easy to miss, was stuck on an A4 sheet outside the room. However, the excitement made perfect sense upon reading it: Boris Gelfand, the challenger in the 2012 World Championship match against Viswanathan Anand, was about to participate in a 10-game simultaneous exhibition.
These exhibitions, common on the sidelines of major chess events, typically feature a Grandmaster of repute taking on multiple amateurs simultaneously. There are no strict time controls, yet the Grandmaster usually concludes the games within an hour.
After the MC introduced Gelfand to his opponents, which included a few Indian-origin players, the multiple-time World Championship Candidate swiftly began.
The games unfolded with varied openings—by the time Gelfand returned for his second move on each board, he had already employed several opening strategies. Slowly and methodically, he began to outplay his competitors.
One of the first players to resign was a US-based Indian fan who had travelled to Singapore specifically to watch the event.
“I stay in the US and was in Ahmedabad for a long annual holiday,” he shared. “I am a big chess fan and wanted to come for this event. So I kind of planned and decided to watch a few games.”
As a VIP ticket-holder, he had managed to secure a spot in the exhibition. “It’s a dream come true for me. I would have never imagined myself playing somebody like Gelfand, somebody who played in a World Championship match. It’s definitely a pinch-me moment.”
Keyur, who is returning to Ahmedabad in the coming days, expressed just one regret: missing a similar experience with Anand. The five-time world champion, currently in Singapore as the deputy president of FIDE, is set to participate in his own 10-game simultaneous exhibition on Sunday.
Approximately 70 minutes after the exhibition began, Gelfand had systematically defeated all 10 players, achieving a clean sweep. As expected, the final score stood at 10-0.
For the participants, it was less about the results and more about the privilege of sharing the board with a chess legend.