Press Release

2014

NIIT salutes the spirit of resilience of five-time World Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand

Congratulates the Grandmaster on the phenomenal win at FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2014

Unleashes new initiative - “MindChampions like you, find new ways to win” - to motivate youngsters to overcome challenging situations

Chennai, April 2, 2014: NIIT Limited, leading Global Talent Development Corporation, heartily congratulated the five-time World Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand on his phenomenal victory at FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2014.

Anand defied all odds to emerge as the winner of FIDE Candidates 2014 held recently in Russia with a round to spare. He has thus emerged as the ‘Challenger’ to reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen, with the title Match scheduled sometime in November this year.

With this victory, NIIT MindChampion Anand has made a historical comeback, silencing critics and enforcing the belief of his fans who have stood by him over the years. His fighting spirit and the ability to bounce back makes him an inspiration for millions of young Indians. Together, Vishy and
NIIT have shared a memorable 15 years association, introducing young minds to the fascinating game of chess and enabling them to apply the same to academics.

Commemorating Anand’s win, NIIT unveiled a unique initiative aimed at motivating youngsters to overcome their challenging circumstances and emerge victorious through determination, hard work and perseverance. The initiative titled “MindChampions like you, find new ways to win” has met with an encouraging response with youngsters sharing their own personal `Vishy moment’, a moment when they exhibited resilience to emerge a winner even in tough situations.

Congratulating NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand on his spectacular win, Mr. Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Limited said, “Vishy has shown remarkable resilience”.

“This is indeed a proud moment for every Indian. Anand’s fighting spirit will inspire many youngsters to discover their very own - Vishy moment”, added Mr. Pawar.

NIIT’s association with Vishy is one of the longest brand associations in the history of Indian sport. Together for the past 15 years, they have worked relentlessly to build a community of young chess players, encouraging students to apply the winning strategies of chess in real life situations. Studies have shown that Chess improves concentration and diligence thus helping students perform better academically.

“I am grateful to every Indian for the faith and confidence that they have reposed in me. It is their support and encouragement that has given me the strength to bounce back. I will continue to work together with NIIT to empower young minds with strategies and lessons drawn from the game of chess,” said five-time World Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand.

Last year NIIT had unveiled #Wish4Vishy - a national movement to enable every Indian to cheer for Anand, as he took on challenger world number one Magnus Carlsen at the World Chess Championship 2013 held in Chennai. The unique social media campaign had reached out to over 60 lakh fans across the globe, truly capturing the imagination of people and drawing them to offer unstinting emotional support to our favourite chess icon. #Wish4Vishy was especially created by Team NIIT, who are passionate about their MindChampion and have continued to support Anand over the years.  

The NIIT MindChampions’ Academy - a Joint initiative by NIIT and Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand - was introduced in the year 2002 with the objective of initiating children into the world of Chess. The phenomenal success of MindChampions’ Academy has reiterated the fact that Chess has been a rewarding experience for students, helping them approach the academic problems in a more tactical and logical manner and improving their analytical skills. Today, MCA has touched 1.65 million children in over 17,000 schools across India. Over the last 12 years MCA has organized more than 16,000 school level tournaments and over 5,500 District level & State Level tournaments.  NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand has personally travelled across India and has visited countries like Africa and China to inspire young minds to take up Chess. 

MindChampions’ Academy conducts the hugely popular annual event, known as ChessMaster for school children across India within the NIIT network of schools. It is also the first institution in India to launch a certificate program in Chess under a Central Government University umbrella- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

In his glorious career spanning over 25 years, Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand has taken Indian chess to great heights. Born in Chennai, Vishy is acclaimed to be the Fastest Brain in the world. Five-time World Champion, Vishy is the only person in Chess history to have won a World championship title in all formats - match, knock-out and tournament. It is his success in the world chess arena that has made this ancient Indian game, a mass sport in the country.