Anand gets royal felicitation at IIT

NEW DELHI: In a royal welcome, Viswanathan Anand, the new king of the 64 squares, was today provided a vintage car ride in the Indian Institute of Technology campus here on Tuesday.
    
Dressed in a navy blue suit over a green suit, Anand stood in the red automobile, with wife Aruna occupying the rear seat, waving back to school students lining up both sides of the road.
    
The procession, fit for old world royalty, included escorts atop horses as the champion arrived for a felicitation ceremony.
    
Anand was then crowned for winning the undisputed world chess title in Mexico City last month.
    
He also launched the new session of NIIT MindChampions Academy by making the first symbolic move on a huge chess board specially made for the occasion.
    
Anand also played simultaneous matches against 32 players, split into eight teams of four each.
    
The champion, who interacted freely with his opponents during the course of the matches, said it was the most enjoyable part of his felicitation ceremony.
    
"It was really very enjoyable as they were making smart moves while some of them also came up with advice for me.
    
"It shows India has a great future in the game," Anand said.