Rest day! (in Mumbai!)

Game number three turned out to be a wonderful day for chess fans all over the world and especially India. Vishy Anand beat Magnus Carlsen after a gap of almost four years. Next day in Game four we witnessed a Sicilian and though it was a slow manoeuvring game, it was quite a tense struggle. And after every two games comes the rest day! While the players need it, what should the chess fans all around the world do? There are no pictures of the players because they are too busy in the match to update their facebook or twitter accounts. The lone picture of Magnus Carlsen that I found after game four was the following.

Says the caption: A good way to end game day 4: Enjoying a few good laughs and some good Georgian food with my team. (picture from facebook page of Magnus Carlsen)

For me, the match is also pretty tiring. After watching the game intensely for nearly 5-6 hours I would get down to the work on annotating the games in detail for the android application.(If you are a chess lover and have a android mobile/tablet and you do not have this app, it is high time you download it!) So after four games, it became quite necessary for me to unwind. And what better way than to explore the beautiful city that I live in: the city of Mumbai! 

I understand that the readers are not at all interested in what I did on the rest day :), but the catch here is that in the process of knowing what I did, you will be able to see beautiful pictures of the city of Mumbai!

The best way to travel in Mumbai is through local trains

The population of Mumbai is around 20 million! Such scenes are not uncommon!

Beauty always awaits at the end of the tough journey! The beautiful Marine Drive.

There are only a few things in life that I love more than Pizza. Chess is definitely one of them! The restaurant that we ate this is known as 'Pizza by the bay'. It serves one of best pizzas in Mumbai.

After lunch, we decided to go to this little shop and eat 'Paan'. 

Paan known as Betel leaf is extremely good for digestion. A lot of things are added on the paan which make it simply delicious! It has to be folded and then eaten in one go! If you are in Mumbai, you must try this after your meal.

My wife, Amruta, definitely recommends it! :)

Buying new books is always on the agenda for me! But I saw something very interesting at the Oxford book store. There was a man (in the picture above) who was sitting all alone with three things. One book in which he had carefully written the moves of the Staunton Gambit (d4 f5 e4), a mobile phone in which he was peiodically seeing a game, and a tablet in which he was analyzing. Such was his concentration that he never once looked at me or anyone around him! I did not want to disturb this man and hence just observed him. To tell you the truth he did inspire me with his unflinching dedication towards the game!

Shopping time! The variety of things available at the Colaba market was simply mind boggling! Guess what Amruta, the chess player bought for herself!

Not the My System! but a pocket watch which had a king engraved on it!

The Gateway of India looks very pretty at night

The colours of Indian flag gave the structure a very nice effect. A small historical note: The structure was erected to commemorate the landing of their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder, when they visited India in 1911. (from Wikipidea)

These colourful horse rides, also known as Victoria ride is a must if you are near the Gateway of India

Near the Gateway, is the majestic Taj hotel

Dinner time: The "Bhatura" is a huge 'puri' made of Maida flour which is to be eaten with..

Chole: Spicy chick peas

Final stop: The Chowpatty beach and in the background you can see the array of lights which is also known as the Queen's necklace! 

Happy and refreshed after Mumbai Darshan!

Game number five is going to be one of the most crucial encounters in the match. While Vishy will most probably begin the game with 1.d4, Magnus's reply is not at all obvious. There are so many options available for him, but I would like to put my money on the Ragozin Defense (d4 Nf6 c4 e6 Nf3 d5 Nc3 Bb4). Catch the game live at 17.30 hours on the official website.

Though there is no replacement for the action from Sochi, I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Mumbai! (picture from the official website)