Anand v Kramnik, Ticket Sales Have Begun

By Arvind Arona

Indian chess lovers planning to visit the upcoming World Championship match between titleholder Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia can now buy tickets online and plan a trip to Bonn, the former West German capital in Germany.

Priced at Euro 35 (about Rs.2380) per day, the ticket includes an entry into the playing hall and also into the grandmasters commentary room to know more about the games and position at the board. Germany has a chess culture and gate collections are huge with thousands watching mega events like the Chess Meeting in Dortmund.

If you did not know, this will be a 12-game series. In case of a 6-6 tie, there will be a play-off on Nov 2. There will be two games, one per day followed by a rest day. There is a free day after games 10, 11, 12. Game one begins October 14. Here are the game dates: Oct 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31, tie-break (if) Nov 2. Tickets for the possible tie-break can be bought after game 12.

For tickets: www.bonnticket.de  E-mail: tickets@bonnticket.de  The sponsor is Evonik Industries AG. The prize fund is Euro 1.50 million (about Rs.10.20 Crores). This is the highest prize fund for any World Chess Championship match and it also promises to be the most closely fought event.

If you arrive into Frankfurt from India/USA around 8 a.m. there is a train leaving from Frankfurt Airport Terminal 2 (basement) for Bonn at 9 a.m. and would reach by 10.56 a.m. For more train options check www.bahn.de  and remember to click the British flag on the top right corner for information in English. You can watch the whole match which is expected to be close and tight. In case you are a busy person, you can see for example, game one and two and return on Thursday (Oct 16) from Bonn by a morning train at 6.03 and arrive at 7.49 in Frankfurt Airport Terminal 2 well ahead of your morning Lufthansa flight to Bangalore/Chennai/Hyderabad or other Indian destinations.