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The players were seen indulging in the festive spirit as they shook a leg to the tune of a famous Rajnikanth song during the gathering hosted by the legendary Anand.
Viswanathan Anand hosted a Pongal Celebration at his residence on Monday.
Legendary Indian GM Viswanathan Anand hosted some of the nation’s chess players including World Champion D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi as the wizards celebrated the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal.
The players were seen indulging in the festive spirit as they were seen dressed in traditional Tamil attire, the veshti, and spread joy with their dance moves as they shook a leg to the tune of a famous Rajnikanth song.
The group was seen moving to the hit song ‘Manasilaiyo’ from Superstar Rajni’s latest flick ‘Vettaiyan’, which came out last year to a massive reception as always.
Following a brief moment of hesitation, Anand broke into a sequence of moves as the youngsters followed suit in mimicking the legend.
The gathering was organised at the Anand household and the celebrations began early in the morning. Pongal marks the beginning of the Tamil month of Thai, celebrated throughout the state with pomp and show in a manner of thanking the almighty for the harvest.
The celebrations highlighted the sense of community within the chess camp as they reveled in the collective joy of the festival.
India had a phenomenal year in 2024 as the nation reached many hitherto unscaled milestones including the FIDE Olympiad triumph by the men’s and the women’s contingents, before Gukesh stunned the world by becoming the youngest ever World Champion against former holder Ding Liren in a 14-game series.
Veteran chess player Humpy Koneru added a coat of sheen to India’s showing in the year gone by with her title-clinching performance at the World Rapid Championships in New York during the final week of 2024.