Yashasvi Jaiswal has an unlikely admirer. Peter Svidler, a Russian chess player and former World Cup winner, loves to watch the Indian left-hander bat, especially in Tests.
Svidler, who became a cricket convert after watching the India-Pakistan match in the 1999 World Cup, remains fascinated by the game, especially the drama it offers. “I feel a great Test match is a reflection of life itself, with all the twists and turns that happen during five days,” he told Sportstar here on Friday. “I have started watching the IPL too, and I found it interesting.”
Svidler, who is playing for Upgrad Mumba Masters at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, is grateful to English Grandmaster and former World title match challenger Nigel Short for introducing cricket to him. “I remember him telling me, ‘I will show you something you have not seen before’, and I loved it right away.”
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Among his favourite cricketers is Shane Warne. “I have watched him playing for Hampshire, and he was such a great spinner,” he says. “And I have also liked watching Muttiah Muralitharan bowl.”
As for the Global Chess League, Svidler finds it exciting. “I was a commentator last year and am playing in this edition,” he says. “I think the time control (the lack of increment) is going to be a challenge for everybody, but I understand the idea behind it. And it is interesting to have new things.”
He believes the Global Chess League could become a very prominent event on the chess calendar. “It has a carnival feel to it, while being also incredibly strong,” he says. “Being a cricket fan, I know where the inspiration for this league comes from.”
About India’s stunning success at the Chess Olympiad, Svidler says he wasn’t surprised. “There were no weaknesses for India, and they had five strong boards,” he says. “I was doing the commentary on the Olympiad, and by the fourth round, we were saying who was going to take points off these kids (the Indian men’s team). It didn’t seem like they could not be stopped. The double was historic, though the women weren’t as dominant as the men.”
(The writer is in London at the invitation of Tech Mahindra).