Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand checkmates Yuzvendra Chahal in COVID fundraiser Chess match

With a goal to raise funds for the COVID-19 relief, Team India's leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and India's Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand locked horns in a friendly chess match. On Saturday it was confirmed by Viswanathan Anand and Yuzvendra Chahal both that they will play an exhibition match which will be broadcasted live on the YouTube channel

Vishwanathan Anand defeats Yuzvendra Chahal in a friendly chess match

The COVID fundraiser chess match between Yuzvendra Chahal and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand on Sunday was telecasted live on the YouTube channel 'chess.com India'. Yuzvendra Chahal's love for chess well-known as the cricketer has represented India in Chess at the World Youth Chess Championship. However, facing Viswanathan Anand for the first time, the leg-spinner was the first to get defeated.

During the match between Yuzvendra Chahal and Viswanathan Anand, the leg-spinner did not play defensive and tried to outwit the Indian grandmaster. However, Yuzvendra Chahal had no answers when Viswanathan Anand applied the MacLeod attack. Chahal lost his light square bishop and was a piece down when Anand decided to force the attack. Chahal and Anand played the match in the presence of YouTuber Samay Raina who is known for making videos related to chess.

It is to be noted that apart from Yuzvendra Chahal celebrities like Ritiesh Deshmukh, Aamir Khan, Arijit Singh, Ananya Birla, and Manu Kumar Jain also locked horns with the former Chess champion. A the end of the 'Checkmate COVID' event, Chesscom India raised more than Rs. 6. 5 lakhs. The match took place from 5 pm to 8 pm. 

Viswanathan Anand's career

Viswanathan Anand's career saw a meteoric rise as he took the Indian domestic chess scene by storm in the 1980s. In just a span of 8 years, Vishy went from being relatively unknown to becoming India's first Grandmaster in 1988. A five-time world chess champion, Anand became the fourth player in history to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE rating list. He was also the first person to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award - India's highest sporting honour - in 1991–92. In 2007, he was awarded India's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award.

(Image Credits: @CricCrazyJohns/Twitter/PTI/ Youtube- Chesscom India/Yuzi_Chahal23-Insta)