Chess enthusiast Netanyahu follows Anand-Gelfand match

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an amateur chess player and an enthusiast of the game, closely followed the 12th game of the World Championships between his countryman Boris Gelfand and India’s defending champion Viswanathan Anand in Moscow. The game was broadcast on a giant screen in a room adjacent to the Prime Minister’s office where Netanyahu watched it between meetings and spoke with Natan Sharansky, a former minister who was a promising chess player as a child, about the moves. [caption id=“attachment_324447” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an amateur chess player and an enthusiast of the game. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters”]  [/caption] The Israeli Premier is said to have met the Israeli Grandmaster Gelfand in March 2010 when he played a match against him and Natan Sharansky, which is said to have ended in a draw. A lot of amateur and professional Israeli chess players as well as enthusiasts also gathered at the centre of Israel to watch the match on a big screen. The two players are tied at 6-6 points after 12 games and the champion will now be decided in tie-breakers. PTI