JAN 6: Newly crowned World chess champion Viswanathan Anand on Saturday foresaw bright commercial prospects for the game in terms of sponsorship by Industry majors and as a marketable indoor game enjoyable to the public and televiewers.``I am sure that more and more industry majors would be venturing into sponsoring chess players and tournaments in the near future in the country, thanks to the tremendous public interest and media blitz the game was getting of late,'' Anand who is the brand ambassador of IT major NIIT, told a select group of reporters here on Saturday.He said there was defnite scope for the game to emerge as an enjoyable indoor event if it was packed and marketed properly, adding he had seen good audience turnout for some rapid games organised abroad with giant chess boards and entertaining commentaries during such events.Anand said the popularity of chess had gone up by leaps and bounds in the country in recent years and today it was one of the mainstream Sports.``You should keep on selling it, if the tempo is tocontinue and the game to grow,'' he said.Asked about his plans to set up a Chess Academy in Chennai, Anand said he was still serious about it, adding the main thing was that he should wait for such a time when he could make himself available to look after such an institution and devote his time for the same.He said he used to follow certain diets prescribed for mind boosting. ``But they are nothing but the same items I normally eat,'' he said, adding he preferred to eat light during championship games.Anand said he liked tennis a lot, adding nowadays he could find time only to watch some tournaments. As to cricket, he said he used to follow only major events like the World cup.``Of late, I listen to music, mostly pop and Spanish songs.'' he said.Anand said he could rarely meet his old college friends as most of them were abroad, mostly in the US.He said he had not yet set any goals in life, adding ``At present I would like to concentrate on playing.''On rival top ranking players, he said most of them were very friendly.Asked about his memorable experiences in his home city of Chennai after winning the championship, he said he enjoyed being felicitated and taken in a procession.``I felt pleasantly surprised when a bus driver stopped in the middle of the road during my procession, came down and wished me before driving away. Even the bus passengers were waving their hands,'' he said.
