Aruna Anand’s inspection concluded, two more to follow
The logo of the World Chess Championship match Topalov – Anand was presented at a press conference in Sofia. One more time the organizers include a famous city element, this time it is the Sofia statue, a symbol of wisdom and victory, built in the beginning of the new millennium. (scroll down for photos)
Last year’s match Topalov – Kamsky logo here
The second part of the press conference was dedicated to the visit of Vishy’s wife and manager Aruna Anand. She stayed in the Hilton Hotel in Sofia, about 2 km away from the playing hall. This will be the base of team Anand during the World Chess Championship, a place where he has stayed during previous visits to Bulgaria.
Aruna Anand inspected the proposed by the organizers venue – Military Club in Sofia – on two consecutive days, checking the conditions, the atmosphere, security issues, and additional details. On day 1 of her visit she expressed the desire to limit the number of entrances, install a “special curtain” to block visual contact between the audience and the players, and to limit the number of people entering the playing hall to 200.
On the second day it was explained that the audience will enter through a different entrance and everyone entering the hall will undergo security check, similar to the one at the airports. Regarding security and bodyguards, Anand family have requested such only while traveling from the hotel to the Military Club (map of the route here)
The second inspection in Sofia will be in the end of March, for which Aruna Anand requested the stage to be ready. The final inspection will be 3 days before the match.
Stay tuned for updates
The Sofia statue with a wrath and a bird, symbolizing wisdom and victory
The symbol of Topalov – Anand’s match logo, frontal view
The statue is facing one of the central city squares with the President’s Palace on its right
