Chennai: WestBridge Charitable Foundation, is set to launch a chess fellowship program, in partnership with chess maestro and former world champion, Viswanathan Anand, establishing the WestBridge-Anand Chess Academy (WACA).
The academyis poised to create a platform to facilitate mentorship to both established and aspiring players with the aim to promote the sport of intellect in the country and ‘pass the baton’, to produce more world champions for India in the game of chess.
It aims to identify deserving candidates every year, with the potential to break into the top world chess ranking,and grant fellowships to propel these young chess champs, designated as WACA Fellows,towards greater glory and milestones.
With mentoring from Anand and his team of experts and WestBridge’s monetary support, the academy, in addition to providing the thrust to help them excel in the sport, also hopes to positively impact the lives of the WACA Fellows by rewarding them for their achievements.
Talking about the initiative, Viswanathan Anand, said, “Chess has made a lot of progress in the last twenty years. I think many players in the country have the potential, under the right guidance, to make it to the top ten and even become World Champions.”