Hyderabad, August 24
He is the King of Chess who brought laurels to India. But, the Grandmaster was checkmated by an insensitive bureaucracy in a foul move that brought disgrace to the country. Three-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand faced a major embarrassment today following bungling by the HRD Ministry over his nationality issue.

It was a humiliating experience for the chess wizard when he realised that the HRD officials had declined permission to the University of Hyderabad (UoH) to confer an honorary doctorate on him. And the reason? They had doubts over Anand’s nationality!

The champion has made Spain his second home, but continues to hold an Indian passport and visits India often.

Anand was to be honoured by the university at a special convocation during the ongoing International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). The UoH is co-hosting the nine-day Congress, being held for the first time in India.

The unseemly controversy cast a shadow over the ICM with the organisers seething in anger over the HRD Ministry’s goof-up. Anand, however, remained unfazed over the storm and made a cheerful appearance at the ICM venue.

Though HRD Minister Kapil Sibal apologised for the goof-up, the champion appeared to be in no mood to accept the doctorate, at least not during the ongoing ICM.

Fulfilling his commitment, the chess wizard played the game simultaneously against 40 volunteers chosen from among delegates and participants at the ICM. The encounter lasted nearly four hours.

Barring a 14-year-old boy Shreekar from Bangalore, who drew the game, all others were defeated by the grandmaster.

“I have played under the Indian flag and hold an Indian passport which I obtained during my first trip overseas. I have come here to play chess with mathematicians and enjoy the Congress. I don’t understand what’s happening,” a miffed Anand was understood to have remarked when he came to know about the controversy.

His agent Abraham Kuruvilla was blunt in his response. “There is no way Anand is going to take the award now and during this Congress as far as I know,” he told reporters here.

“The honorary doctorate has not been stalled or denied. It has only been delayed. But we are extremely embarrassed over this,” Head of UoH’s Mathematics Department Rajat Tandon said.

Attributing the controversy to “procedural error”, Sibal told the media in Delhi that Anand’s nationality was never questioned by his ministry. “Anand has now agreed to accept the honour. I told him that the honorary degree could be conferred today itself. He indicated to me that he had some problem about this evening. Then I told him any date of his convenience for the function was okay. He has accepted it,” the minister said.

“Procedural error has led to problems regarding doctorate. Immediate corrective action was taken. I told him that we are sorry for what has transpired,” he said.

The champion was “hurt” by the controversy over his nationality, his wife Aruna said. “He has always had an Indian passport and is still an Indian passport holder. So restating the obvious is a bit irritating. I do not understand where this ambiguity has come in, why this doubt should arise in somebody’s mind,” she said.

She said it would be difficult for Anand to accept the honour at this stage as his schedule did not permit it.