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The boy who once travelled to a State Chess Championship with money his mother raised by pawning her gold chain found himself ‘checkmating’ two of India’s biggest chess stars in Chennai on Saturday. Only this time, the battlefield was a dining table and his winning moves came in the form of tiger prawns, seer fish and a dash of culinary flair.
Chef Suresh Pillai found himself cooking at chess legend Viswanathan Anand’s home at the grandmaster’s request, preparing a special meal for a gathering that included Anand and reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.
The invitation came through an email from Chess.com, asking Pillai to cook for Gukesh, who was visiting Anand as a guest. For Pillai, who had grown up with a photograph of Anand pasted inside his school textbook, the moment brought a childhood admiration full circle.
Pillai made sure the menu spoke the language of the occasion. Tiger prawns and Neymeen, or seer fish, were flown to Chennai especially for the meal. The dishes were named after the stages of a chess game, with the menu moving from Opening to Middle Game and finally Checkmate.
Inji Puli Chicken and Venad Paal Konchu were joined by Nirvana, a combination of seer fish and paneer. The meal ended on a high note, with Anand and Gukesh signing a metal chessboard and presenting it to Pillai as a memento.
