Anand, Gelfand Both Get Home to Grand Welcome

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,


In the very frenzied, attacking, and spectacular rapid chess being played at the Batumi Women's World Rapid, we did not miss keeping track of where World Chess Champion India's Viswanathan Anand and his Challenger Israel's Boris Gelfand were!


As expected, there are hundreds of reports on the Internet as the two very talented chess players were received in their respective countries to a grand welcome.

World chess champion Viswanathan Anand was greeted by fans at the Chennai airport on Saturday as he reached home after winning his fifth world chess championship title. Officials from the Indian Chess Federation and Anand's family members were also there to greet him. Anand's press conferences have already become a big source of discussion in the Indian media.

Meanwhile, Boris Gelfand too landed at the Ben Gurion Airport to be greeted by fans and family members in Israel. His chess friends and chess federation officials were there as well. Gelfand also had his baggage trolley missing for a while, but it was recovered soon enough. In reference to the World Chess Championship, Gelfand said, "I was truly excited, and I hope this will elevate chess in Israel to its rightful place. I think it's a very good thing for the public that every child will know what chess is."

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