Viswanathan Anand manages to escape 'kidnappers' with smart moves

Indian Grandmaster and former chess world champion Viswanathan Anand on Friday (March 1) tweeted a picture on X after being released by his “kidnappers”. Don’t be startled as it was just one of his ways to showcase his humorous side.

Anand tweeted about his “kidnapping” by none other than American-Canadian chess sensations Alexandra and Andrea Botez. It all started with Alexandra sharing a picture of Anand which shows him with a serious demeanour. “Why does it look like we took Viswanathan Anand hostage,” she wondered while sharing the picture. Her post elicited a string of witty responses from netizens.

Anand soon joined in with a post on X. “At the Airport! My kidnappers, let me go,” he wrote and shared his picture. The netizens found it amusing that his facial expression in this image is similar to the one tweeted by Alexandra.

In a tweet on the same thread, Anand said, “Alexandra Botez told me I had to solve a chess position to win my freedom. Andrea asked what Black should play in this position. I told her Kd5, and they let me go.” The chess legend didn’t stop there and went on to share an explanation about selecting this particular move. “Extra explanation: Since this is a race, black should play Kd5 Slowing the white king march to the Queen's side And a quicker hostage release!” he added.

Anand’s picture has gone viral with over one million views since being shared on March 1. The post has also drawn several comments from people. “We need more proof of release. This picture looks like it was taken in front of a screen,” joked an X user. “Happy to see you've escaped unscathed,” added another. “Savage mode,” joined a third. “You must be smiling but you ain't? Why?” asked a fourth. “This looks staged and not tweeted by you, more proof we need!” wrote a fifth.