Anand lauds Harikrishna, Humpy

World chess champion Vishwanathan Anand on Monday felicitated India's youngest Grandmaster Pendyala Harikrishna at a special ceremony organised by Indian IT giant NIIT.

The function, however, started on a sombre note by condoling the deaths of five budding chess players from Andhra Pradesh, who were killed in a road accident near Puri in Orissa on Sunday.

Anand presented a silver plaque to the rising star of Indian chess, Pendyala Harikrishna. But Koneru Humpy skipped the felicitation function in wake of the tragedy that befell the budding chess players in Orissa.

Speaking on the occasion, Anand said: "Today the World championship is with India and while Harikrishna has broken my 14-year-old record, Humpy has won the Junior World championship, that too at such an young age. I wish them the very best in the years ahead."

He also congratulated Harikrishna and Humpy for their outstanding performance in the mind sport.

"I came here to felicitate Hari and Humpy. It is very nice to be back in Hyderabad. I played here too often, starting with 1982. I was one of the youngest players then, " he recalled.

Offering his profound condolences to the families of the five chess players who died in the tragic accident on Sunday, Anand said: "My heart goes out to them."

He expressed the hope that the "AP chess community will bounce back from the tragedy that occurred yesterday. The AP chess community is very resilient. The AP government is also encouraging this mind sport a lot," he said.

He said chess has become very popular in India, with the number of players growing rapidly. There are many upcoming, budding chess players who are talented and quite ambitious. "I am an uncle for the new chess kids much younger to me," he quipped.

At a question-answer session, Anand praised Harikrishna a lot and said he really made his presence felt in Mainz. "He is a really very tough guy," he said, and told Harikrishna "you know what you have to do next."

"I am the first Indian World champion and surely I won't be the last," he declared.

To a query, he said: "Russia still remains No. I in the world with over a 100 Grandmasters. We are improving fast. India and China are two big surprises in the world of chess over the last decade or so. But I don't think we will catch such a big leap so quickly ( to outbid Russia)."

To another query, he said: "Hopefully we will get into the Olympics despite the opposition."