Czar Viswanathan Anand arrives in Chennai

Their high fives and hugs at the Chennai airport gave one the impression that they themselves had won a world title.

But they were visibly elated because they had interacted - though very briefly - with undisputed king of the world chess, Vishwananthan Anand.

Their overwhelming joy was justified as the 30-odd young chess players almost lost an opportunity to meet Anand due to the media frenzy.

“We are very thrilled that we were able to shake hands with Anand Sir. We told him Congrats and all the best. We could not speak more though we would have liked to have heard him say a few words,” a group of young girls, who were doing a jig after shaking hands with Anand, told DNA on Monday.

Though the All India Chess Federation and Tamil Nadu Chess Association had planned a grand reception for Anand on his return from Bulgaria after winning the world title for a historic fourth time, the scenes at the Chennai international airport turned chaotic the moment Anand came out of the lounge.

Anand and Aruna, who landed here via Frankfurt by a Lufthansa flight that touched down as scheduled, were received inside the airport lounge by a small group of family and officials.

Anand’s parents, Aruna’s parents, All India Chess Federation secretary DV Sundar, officials of Tamil Nadu Chess Association and officials of Anand’s sponsor NIIT were on hand to garland the hero and present bouquets.

Anand spent few minutes with his parents and in-laws showing them the glittering medal. Anand left the airport after obliging the airport officials who sought to take pictures with him.

The “unruly mob” of TV cameramen and photographers, who almost gheraoed Anand making it difficult for the world champion to even address the media let alone the young chess enthusiasts who had been waiting outside for nearly an hour, forced the security to usher Anand into a white Toyota Innova car.

After anxious parents pleaded with the federation officials, the glass window of the car was briefly rolled down for Anand to shake hands and accept the bouquets from the young chess players and fans. With the media personnel not heeding to any advice, the car drove away leaving behind Aruna Anand, Anand’s parents and in-laws to take different vehicles.

“He is a great inspirer for our children and it is because of him chess has become so popular in India. We are really proud that Anand is an Indian and it great to be among such a chess fraternity,” businesswoman Manomani, whose seventh-standard studying daughter Manasa plays chess at T Nagar Club, said.

Aruna, who stayed back to organise the luggage, later obliged the media with her sound bytes. “We specially savour this triumph as it came against great odd - some unexpected such as the volcanic ash that forced us to drive for 40 hours. In fact many people were unhappy when Anand agreed to play in Bulgaria. But he took it as a challenge and ran the extra mile to win the title,” Aruna said.

Asked about the 40-hour drive to Bulgaria in a bus, she said, “We were reminded of our school excursions with so many places to visit during the drive.”

Stating that the next one month would be devoted to rest and catching up on sleep, she said “We were touched by the gesture of Kramnik. It is just not the psychological angle, Kramnik started getting his hands so dirty that we thought he was a part of our team.”