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Anand disappointed after postponement of chess event

Viswanathan Anand on Tuesday expressed disappointment that his first major assignment after winning the world title has been indefinitely postponed.

Chennai: Viswanathan Anand on Tuesday expressed disappointment that his first major assignment after winning the world title -- The Kings tournament in Medias, Romania -- has been indefinitely postponed.
The tournament was supposed to be held from June 23 to July 4, before being postponed by the organisers. "Emotions are still fresh having won the World Championship, a tough one at that. It was most disappointing. I was geared up to playing in it and now I have to cool my heels for the next one. Always you want to get back and play again," said Anand. "It was my first chance to do it after the world championship. You cannot live with World Championship alone. You have to put that aside and play some tournaments and I was trying to get in to my frame of mind as well. "But, suddenly it has been postponed. That was disappointing when I got the news." The thought of getting to play in tournaments starting from this September to January next year, however, seemed comforting. "I will get to play still in tournaments starting from Bilbo event in September, London in December and another one in January. So, I still get to be ready for that. For three months or so you don`t keep the fire burn in you, you get prepared well for these events." The 2012 tournament in Medias was to be the sixth edition (being held in Bazna until last year) and was set to include a strong 6-player double round robin line-up headed by last year`s winner and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway and world champion Anand. The other players were Teimour Radjabov, Sergey Karjakin, Vassily Ivanchuk and top Romanian player Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu. Anand was today made the the brand ambassador of TVH, one of the major players in realty market in Southern parts of India. Talking about his association with TVH as its brand ambassador, Anand said, "I have been a TVH customer for seven years. That was a positive experience. And a month or two ago they approached me and I was happy to accept their offer. "I felt that TVH reflects lot of values of myself. I like my chess to do the talking and not my words and TVH also let their projects do the talking. We both strive for excellence and therefore I was excited to join the TVH family. "I am sure that we will do some interesting things together including some chess. It is a wonderful beginning." Asked if he was worried signing endorsements like this, Anand said, "I think that you always endorse a company that share your values and approach things. Endorsements are considered exciting." Ravichandran, chairman of TVH, said, "We were on the lookout for a brand ambassador for some time and in Anand we found the perfect answer. All our customers will swear by our quality and ethical approach. TVH is entering into a new market segments by launching Quadrant, a super premium project in posh Adyar areas in Chennai. PTI