First days of the Festival will welcome 15th World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. The current #1 player of India is going to participate in the opening ceremonies of the Festival over the course of three days and describe his best games and top moments of his fruitful chess career at a lecture dedicated to the young players from the Futures tournament. Additionally, he will host an autograph session for all chess fans.

Vishy Anand made a significant mark in Prague as early as in 2002, during the Eurotel Trophy held at Prague Střelecký Island. The rapid knock-out tournament had nearly all top chess players attending, including Garri Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Judit Polgár, Vladimir Kramnik or Péter Lékó. Ranked #3 at the time, Vishy cut through four elimination rounds smoothly and won against Anatoly Karpov in the finals, with a score of 1,5:0,5.

Vishy Anand is a living chess legend. In 1988 he became the first Indian GM and his chess career has been marked with numerous successess, including victories in the most prestigious tournaments and securing the World Champion title in 2007. His achievements have undoubtedly directly lead to an incredible chess boom in India. Despite turning 55 this year, he remains an active player and currently holds #12 ranking in the world ratings. In 2022 he was elected as a vicepresident of FIDE and has been dedicating increasing amounts of time to promoting and popularising chess all around the world. 

On Wednesday, February 28th, at 14:00, the fans will have the opportunity to ask Vishy Anand for an autograph or a picture, at 15:00 the chess legend will start the second round of the Masters tournament with his opening move.