19 April,2010 08:29 AM IST | | Manisha Mohite
Reykjavik, Iceland, 1972 ufffdu00a0 One of the most high profile, volatile and dramatic World Chess Championship ever contested, between Robert James Fischer popularly known as 'Bobby' and Boris Spassky hit international headlines and brought chess into the front pages of newspapers and into the living rooms of the general public.
This time around it is the Eyjafjallajokull, the Icelandic volcano that is threatening to disrupt the schedule of the World Chess Championship slated in Sofia from April 23rd to May 12th.
If the event in 1972 was delayed by two days due to what many termed as Bobby's tantrums and demands, then the current ash cloud from the volcanic eruption across Europe has delayed defending champion Viswanathan Anand's plans of travelling to Sofia en-route from Spain. Anand was stranded in Frankfurt, Germany due to cancellation of flights over Europe. The All India Chess Federation AICF has requested the World Chess governing Body FIDE to postpone the Match by three days. When contacted by this newspaper, D V Sundar the secretary of the AICF said: "Today being a Sunday, we expect the FIDE in all probability to announce a decision by tomorrow."
Anand left his home in Spain on Thursday (April 15) for Frankfurt and was scheduled to arrive in Sofia the next afternoon via a connecting flight. However, the closure of all German airports had him stranded and hence the request for postponement as travelling by other routes would take almost 26 hours and thereafter he would need time to get over the strenuous travel and also to acclimatize himself in Bulgaria before taking on Veselin Topalov in the 12-game match.
Strangely, the organisers in Sofia, had announced at a press conference on April 16 thatu00a0 Anand and his team had already landed and checkedu00a0 into the official hotel, and that they did not want to disturb him. However, yesterday they were surprised on receiving a letter from AICF and later found out that it was Hans Walter Schmidt, a member of Team Anand, based in Frankfurt, who hadu00a0 checked into the hotel and taken charge of the rooms reserved for the team.
According to latest information Anand is on his way to Sofia.
