Nikhil Kamath had defeated Chess World Champion Vishwanathan Anand in an online chess exhibition match during a charity stream for COVID-19
Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath was embroiled in a controversy after he admitted to taking ‘help’ and defeating chess world champion Vishwanathan Anand in an online charity stream for COVID-19.
After his dubious win over Anand in an exhibition match, eyebrows were raised about Kamath’s victory. Soon after his ‘victory’, he was banned from the online chess platform for violating its fair play policy. Social media users were furious at Kamath’s behaviour, inviting heavy criticism.
It is ridiculous that so many are thinking that I really beat Vishy sir in a chess game, that is almost like me waking up and winning a 100mt race with Usain Bolt. pic.twitter.com/UoazhNiAZV
— Nikhil Kamath (@nikhilkamathcio) June 14, 2021
The ban further raised questions about the authenticity of the victory. In a tweet later. the billionaire apologised for the confusion he caused and admitted that he sought help.
“Yesterday was one of those days that I had dreamt of when I was a really young kid learning chess, to interact with Vishwanath Anand. Got the opportunity thanks to Akshaypatra and their idea of raising funds for charity conducting a bunch of chess games with Vishy. It is ridiculous that so many are thinking that I really beat Vishy in a chess game, that is almost like me waking up and winning a 100mt race with Usain Bolt.” Nikhil Kamath said.
He added “I had help from the people analyzing the game, computers and the graciousness of Anand sir himself to treat the game as a learning experience. This was for fun and charity. In hindsight, it was quite silly as I didn’t realise all the confusion that can get caused due to this. Apologies.”
Anand responded to the statement and claimed that he just played the position on the board and expected the same from everyone. “Yesterday was a celebrity simul for people to raise money It was a fun experience upholding the ethics of the game. I just played the position on the board and expected the same from everyone,” Vishwanathan tweeted.
Yesterday was a celebrity simul for people to raise money It was a fun experience upholding the ethics of the game.I just played the position onthe board and expected the same from everyone . pic.twitter.com/ISJcguA8jQ
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) June 14, 2021
All India Chess Federation (AICF) secretary Bharat Chauhan termed this incident as “unfortunate” and a “bad move” by Kamath.
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“It is very unfortunate it was a charity match. We don’t expect anybody to get help from computers, at the national and state level we are following the protocols. We are putting cameras where players are playing and there is a fair play committee which includes three grandmasters and two players.” he was quoted by ANI
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