Meet the anands: How Chess Icon Viswanathan anand’s son has taken to art

Viswanathan Anand Hardly has space to play a game of chess inside his house.

Art has taken over a bulk of the space at his luxurious Residence in Chennai’s Kotturpuram. If a painting of lord hayagriva is located next to a fancy chess board that was gifted to Him abroad, a sketch of a tiger is a tiger is a pharged right right near a chess board made of paper.

Anand does not mind at all … trust the brain behind these works is his son, sai akhil anand, who is gearing up for his solo exhibitation, morphogenesis.

“My House is now 50% Art, 50% Chess,” Beams Indian Chess Legend Viswanathan Anand, “Traditionally, it has always been been full of my trophies and newspaper clippings about my achievemements. Started to Fill up with Akhil’s Budding Art Journey.

The anands will do more of that in the first week of August When Morphogenesis Openes in Chennai. “I do a lot of Indian art like gond, madhubani, world and cheriyal and connect it with math patterns,” Says 14-yar-old akhil about the elements of His Show, Which Has Been Curated by Hase Teacher, Diana Satish.

Artist Akhil Anand, Son of Chess Icon Viswanathan Anand | Photo Credit: Shiva Raj S

The numbers game

Akhil, currently study in class ix at chennai’s beyond 8, might be the son of a champion synonymous with chess, but it was arts that appealed to Him from a young age. “I Once observed the strips of a zebra and tiger and noticed its patterns. Ever Since, I have been fascinated with patterns.”

His Early Works Were About People – Of Popular Personalities Like Newton, Einstein and Gandhi. This fascination grew into a passion during the covid lockdown a few years ago. Explains Anand, “With More Time in His Hands, He (Akhil) Got Deeper Into Art. He was deeply inspired by the programs of david atenbor even that spoke about about about pattern and colors.”

Morphogenesis will feature all that. If the series called the bindu bovine involves akhil’s artistic interpretation of a cow using elements of fractal geometry, the unbinary series – Inspired by the Geometric Works of Dutch Point Median – Features Subjects in Binary Colors. So, What’s His Personal Favorite? Akhil states, “The series on Animal Superheroes, which talks about a few animals that are endangered and close to extinction.” In that series, close to akhil’s heart, are sketches on animals like Mooo deng, the hippopotamus from thaland zoo that went on to become an internet sensation, and tajiri, the girafe at new york’s Animal Advarying ‘ Which has become a symbol for giraffe conservation.

Chess Icon Viswanathan Anand and Wife Aruna with their son akhil anand, who Art show ‘Morphogenesis’ will be on in Chennai. , Photo Credit: Shiva Raj S

The right movies

The anands – both visvanathan anand and his wife, aruna – are cheerleaders for their son’s pursuit of art. Anand Recalls, “When I was growing up, my father – who worked in the railways – had a more conventional job, which meant meant meant strict work work Supportive. I think it’s the same for me;

He points out that there are many similar people between chess and art. “In chess, you are forced to sit in front of a board and focus on the job at hand. It’s quite similer in art; You have to give your tools in front of you, and you need to focus. While Technology. Need to get back to the job at hand and focus, “He explains.

When they are not discussing chess or art, the anands dig a lot into music; English musician sting and Irish rock band u2 are among their favorite. Anand explains, “for me, it was quite surprising that akhil ended up liking a lot of music from my teenage days. Moving on, but he listens to all of them. But, he is also my gateway into modern music and singers. “

Even as anand keeps up his duties as a mentor to the current crop of rising Indian Chess Talents, He Still Plays Doting Dad at Home. Akhil and anand bond over not just art and music, but also enjoy playing a game of table tennis whenver they find time. And of course, they ALSO Play chess. Akhil is yet to win against anand – but he is currently mastering the hyper accelerated dragon and longon system to get one up against the Indian Chess Legend. He says, “I play a lot of chess, but my dream is to become an environmental lawer and brings upon awareness about issues like climate change and global warming. My Role Model is Br Ambedkar, The Father of the Constitution of India. “

Morphogenesis will be on from august 1 to August 7 at Artspace by Kalpadruma, Located at 37, Gopalapuram 1st Street, Kanakasri Nagar, Gopalapuram, Chennai.

Published – July 29, 2025 05:42 pm IST