The barracudas off the coast of Neelankarai were going about their Sunday as usual when they noticed something peculiar: three checkered square boards. And on them stood black-and-white pieces in the shape of pawns, bishops, knights, rooks, kings and queens. Soon, schools of bannerfish, angelfish, jackfish and a solitary turtle joined the barracudas, as they witnessed their first underwater game of chess.
The six players, however, played on unperturbed, periodically rocked by underwater surges. SB Aravind Tharunsri, the organiser of this innovative feat, kept an eye on the proceedings, dressed as Thambi, the mascot for the ongoing 44th Chess Olympiad. The participants are all scuba divers trained by him. “Each game lasted for about 15 minutes,” says Aravind, founder of Temple Adventures diving centres in Neelankarai and Puducherry.
