chessbase india logo

From Hollandaise sauce to Salmon, Vishy Anand is unbeatable as a chef!

by Sagar Shah - 08/06/2019

Rest days in super tournaments have become more and more interesting as sponsors try and make the best use of the time of the world class grandmasters present at their event. Very often we see the GMs giving simultaneous exhibitions or lectures which motivate the youngsters of the place in which the tournament is being held. But the organizers at Norway Chess always have thought outside the box. This was the second year when they made the grandmasters don the cooking hat, and indulge in a cooking contest! Ten players were divided into five teams along with an expert chef to help them. It turned out that Vishy Anand who had won the title in 2018, defended it successfully, this year teamed up with MVL! We bring you some amazing pictures, Vishy's tweet after winning, and Aruna's comments on her husband's cooking abilities.

Vishy Anand defends his master chef title in 2019!

A cooking contest takes place at the Norway Chess every year. The new sponsor at Norway Chess 2019 "HTH kitchen" in partnership with Bocouse d’Or organised the “Chess Chefs” competition! In 2018 it was Vishy Anand and Ding Liren who had won.

The winning duo of 2018 Ding Liren and Vishy Anand had made the Hollandaise sauce and had won the competition | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

This year Vishy Anand's partner was MVL | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

This year the players had to make a spin up a dish related with a Salmon. Instead of cooking instructions, each team was given an expert chef who would direct them. For eg. Anand and MVL were guided by Filip August Bendi. The best chess players in the world cooked together with the best Norwegian chefs who made it to the final of Bocouse d’Or - a popular Norwegian cooking TV show!

Chef Christian Andre Pettersen gets the World Champion ready for the contest | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

The "I don't like to lose look!" by Magnus Carlsen! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Carlsen teamed up with Grischuk for the contest | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Fabiano Caruana and Ding Liren have plenty of fresh supplies of green vegetables | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

The team of Wesley So with Yu Yangyi and chef Rasmus J. Skoglund | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Aronian and Shakh dress up for the occasion. While Aronian is helped by Chef Øyvind Bøe Dalelv, Shakh's second Eltaj Safarli gets his ready. | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Look at the intensity! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Seems like Ding Liren cut his finger! Accidents are not new for Ding Liren in Norway. Last year he had to pull out from the event due to a bicycle mishap. | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Hey, that's not fair, you got better vegetables than us! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Carlsen likes to get things in order before beginning his work | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Hey Magnus, should we wait for time pressure and then speed up the cooking?! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

An interviewer's delight - Alexander Grischuk | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Wesley, you have to cook, not eat! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Sometimes it was MVL showing the way... | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

...Sometimes it was Vishy! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

That's how you win such contests - with complete dedication! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Decision time! The judges were in place to check what the grandmasters had done! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Aronian and Mamedyarov are quite confident about what they have achieved! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

And so are Carlsen and Grischuk | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

The judges didn't really have an easy time deciding

In the end they adjudged the team of Vishy Anand with MVL and Chef Øyvind Bøe Dalelv as winners! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

After winning the contest, Vishy wrote on Twitter:

In 2018 Aruna was present at the venue to taste Vishy's creation! | Photo: Tarjei Svensen

In 2019 Aruna was back in Chennai and speaking to ChessBase India she said, "Clearly he is more talented than I had given him credit for! Doesn’t stop amazing me. Will have to see if this talent extends to doing the dishes!"

It is such a novel idea by the organizers of Altibox Norway Chess 2019. The players are rejuvenated after the rest day and the chess fans get to see them in a completely new avatar. | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019 | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

The super chefs with the super GMs and the organizing committee in the background! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess 2019

Related news:
How Magnus Carlsen’s exploits changed chess from a minor sport in Norway to prime time television!

@ 17/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
नॉर्वे शतरंज 2019 – मेगनस कार्लसन बने विजेता ! आनंद को सातवाँ स्थान

@ 15/06/2019 by Niklesh Jain (hi)
Caruana's London Redemption and Yu Yangyi's Stirring Finish!

@ 15/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
Magnus Carlsen wins Norway Chess 2019 with one round to spare!

@ 14/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
Carlsen's Cascade and Ding's Annihilator underline an inexorable day!

@ 13/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
नॉर्वे शतरंज 2019 - तीन जीत के बाद हारे आनंद

@ 11/06/2019 by Niklesh Jain (hi)
Fatigue supersedes brilliance as Carlsen continues to march ahead

@ 11/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
Norway 2019 Round 5: Aronian's trickery and Vishy's consecutive Armageddon wins!

@ 10/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
Norway 2019 Round 4: The Tiger Roars, while the Mozart of Chess eases through!

@ 09/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
नॉर्वे शतरंज 2019 - आनंद की वापसी आगे और चुनौती

@ 08/06/2019 by Niklesh Jain (hi)
Norway 2019 Round 3: Carlsen's Alpha Zero Strategy amidst an uncompromising day!

@ 07/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
Norway Chess 2019 Round 2: Caruana's Norwegian Immortal and Mamedyarov's Tai-Chi Reversal!

@ 06/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
Norway Chess 2019 Round 1: Armaggeddon Crazy Chess at Norway 2019!

@ 05/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
Norway Blitz: Hurricane MVL destroys the competition, moves to world no.1 with 2948 Elo!

@ 04/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
Home Front - The Hidden Bane of Top Level Chess

@ 03/06/2019 by Tanmay Srinath (en)
नॉर्वे शतरंज 2019- क्या आनंद दोहराएंगे परिणाम ?

@ 01/06/2019 by Niklesh Jain (hi)