Stuck in Germany for three months, Anand finally back

MUMBAI: The ordeal of Viswanathan Anand, held up in Germany for three months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, ended on Saturday after the five-time world chess champion finally returned to India. “Anand has reached India and is in a hotel for quarantine,” his wife Aruna said.

Anand took a special Air India flight from Frankfurt on Friday night, reaching Bengaluru on Saturday afternoon. He will complete seven days of mandatory institutional quarantine there, and if he tests negative, will travel to Chennai where he will undergo 14 days of home quarantine. The special flights from Germany under the Vande Bharat Mission are scheduled to land only in New Delhi and Bengaluru.

He went to Germany to play in the German league, for BadenBaden club in Feb. He self-isolated as a precautionary measure after matches for the weekend of March 11 got cancelled.