Grand Master Viswanathan Anand Raises COVID Relief Funds Via Online Exhibition Matches

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand raised USD 50,000. (approximately INR 37 lakh) for COVID relief in India, in  a series of simultaneous online exhibition matches featuring other players

The event was held on Chess.com with top Indian players, with proceeds going to Red Cross India and the AICF's Checkmate COVID project, according to Chess.com officials.

Grandmaster Anand, along with GMs Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Nihal Sarin, and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, played simultaneous games against a total of 105 players on Chess.com on Thursday.

Any player with a Chess.com blitz or FIDE standard rating of less than 2000 could play with former world champion Anand for USD 150 and the other four GMs for USD 25 as a registration fee.

The games had a 30-minute time limit with a 30-second increment, with the grandmasters getting 15 minutes extra on their clock. The GMs all won by large margins, but only Praggnanandhaa won all of his games.

We are in the midst of a national conflict. It varies by state, but it is extremely important right now. I'm hoping that this will be useful to the chess community, said Anand.