Anand shines in Mainz

The Indian, who is a member of the Franfurt Tigers Chess Club and a popular figure in this part of the world, played for four and a half hours, against his 40 opponents.

"It was an interesting experience. But very tiring, as I had to be on my feet for the full four and a half hours," said the champion.

Anand lost two games and drew another two for a whopping 37 points out of 40.

The two winners were Professor Eckhard Freise and Michael Tishcendorf, a vice-president of the Frankfurt Tigers Chess Club.

Freise, who earlier this year hit the headlines by winning the German version of "Who wants to be a millionaire?", won with a Spanish Opening, something he had tried in 1996 while drawing with another world class grandmaster, Peter Leko.

Tischendorf won his game in 45 moves from a French Winawer.

As is the practise in such simultaneously displays, Anand was white against all his opponents.

Anand’s wife Aruna, who accompanies him on his travels to chess tournaments, said, "Imagine being on your feet for so long! Some of the players wouldn’t give up even after being one or even two pieces down. But I suppose it is fun, and a great experience for all of them."

Anand too expressed his happiness, saying, "These kind of tournaments are great for the game, it gives chess a lot of focus.

The two players holding Anand to a draw were Jens Holzhaus, also a member of the Frankfurt Chess Tigers, and Patrick Schwab of Karlsruhe.

Some of the other interesting people in the field included five-time European triathlon champion, Juergen Zack, who fought with a piece down for 51 moves before resigning. Another well known loser was Ulrich Sieg, who earlier this year organised a Chess Congress to mark the 60th death anniversary of former world champion Emmanuel Lasker.

Daniel Fuchs, who hit the news because his fiancee requested the organisers to give him a place in the simul display against Anand as a pre-wedding gift, lost the match but was happy at getting to play the world champion.

On Sunday night, Vladimir Kramnik will in his turn play 40 simultaneous games.