VISHY’ DESERVES BHARAT RATNA

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By defeating the Bulgarian challenger Veselin Topalov in his own country and retaining the World Chess Championship for the fourth time Viswanathan Anand, better known to his friends as ‘Vishy’, has made all the Indians proud once again. His exploits in the field of chess are unparalleled in India. He became India’s youngest International master [IM] at the age of just 15 years. At the age of 16 years he was the India’s chess champion. He was the first Indian to win World Junior Championship. His achievements are endless. The recent win against Topalov is all the more great because he won against Topalov at all the odds. Due to the volcanic ash problems he could not get the flights to reach the venue well in time. His request to postpone the match was denied. The match was being played at the home ground of his opponent. Undeterred a determined and courageous Vishy travelled all the way by road for thousands of kilometers to reach the venue of championship just in time. Neither had he the time to relax nor to plan and practice his moves. Still by his grit and determination he won the championship for the fourth time. He is undoubtedly the greatest chess player in the world today. It is time we the Indians come out of the cricket mania and accord Vishy his due respect and glory. It is very appropriate to confer the greatest award of Bharat Ratna on him at the earliest.