It was an opportunity of a lifetime for all those who had a chance to share a game with him. The excitement on the faces of the young ones was infectious.

The number of the players far exceeded the chess boards, numbering 14.

Therefore, many had to opt for playing in groups.

For 45 long minutes, Anand kept making moves, literally too from one table to another.

During an interactive session with audience, a youngster asked the world champion, 'how good were you as a chess player when you were 6?'

To which Anand answered, 'not very good, but practised hard.'

Asked if there was a thing about him that she wanted to change, Anand's wife Aruna replied, "I would want him to stop biting his nails", much to everyone's amusement.

Image: Viswanathan Anand takes part in a game of chess with those who had registered online for the Pan-IIT 2008: A star-studded affair 2008. | Photograph: Sreeram Selvaraj

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