Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's Chess.com account reopened, netizens left disappointed

Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath recently made headlines when he faced 5 times world champion, Vishwanathan Anand, in a chess match and ended up defeating him as well. Both Kamath and Anand had engaged in a charity game on Sunday to raise funds for the COVID-19 battle. Recently, Nikhil Kamath admitted in a statement posted on Twitter that he had taken help from people analyzing the game as well as computers. This lead to Chess.com, the platform that organized the matches, banning Nikhil Kamath's chess account and also issued a statement defending its move. 

Chess.com reopens Nikhil Kamath's chess account 

Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath faced massive backlash after he admitted that he had taken help to win the chess game against world champion Vishwanathan Anand. This lead to Chess.com banning his account and they also released a statement that read, "No account closure brings us joy, but we remain committed and work hard to ensure that all chess games are played fairly on Chess.com, and we will continue to invest heavily in our team and systems to ensure the safety and happiness of our users". In response to the ban, the Zerodha co-founder remarked that it was ridiculous to think that he really beat Vishwanathan Anand in a chess game, adding that it is like saying he beat Usain Bolt in a 100 meters race.

However, on June 15, 2021, Chess.com issued another statement on its official Twitter handle and added that with the full cooperation of Vishwanathan Anand, they have decided to reopen all the accounts in question during the event. It was also mentioned that with the cooperation of the players and the fact that all the rules were not properly understood, neither Chess.com nor Anand see any reason to uphold the matter any further. The statement also added that Anand has no interest in further pursuing the matter as well. 

Netizens react to Chess.com reopening Nikhil Kamath's account 

The reopening of Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath's account after his match with Vishwanathan Anand garnered mixed reactions from netizens. While the majority of them stated that it was because of a legend like Anand that Chess.com revoked its decision of banning the accounts, others added that the accounts were opened only because the people concerned were celebrities or billionaires. Some netizens even stated that it is a disappointment and that they would no longer take interest in such matches hereafter. 

Image - Nikhil Kamath's Instagram Account