Anand sees bright commercial future for chess
Newly-crowned world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand forsees bright commercial prospects
for the game in terms of sponsorship.
"I am sure that more and more industry majors would be
venturing into sponsoring chess players and tournaments in the
near future in the country, thanks to the tremendous public
interest and media blitz the game was getting of late," Anand,
who is the brand ambassador of IT major NIIT, told a select
group of reporters in Madras on Saturday.
He said there is defnite scope for the game to emerge as
an enjoyable indoor event if it is packed and marketed
properly, adding he had seen good audience turnout for some
rapid games organised abroad with giant chess boards and
entertaining commentaries during such events.
Anand said the popularity of chess has gone up by leaps
and bounds in the country in recent years and today it is one
of the mainstream sports.
"You should keep on selling it, if the tempo is to
continue and the game to grow," he said.