Viswanathan Anand now has a minor planet named after him

Peter

Pratik Maitra
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When a minor planet was discovered but renamed nameless for over ten years, one chess lover who also happened to be a committee member of the Minor Planet Centre decided to name it after one of the world's best chess players and former World Chess Champion - Viswanathan Anand.

According to Chess News, committee member of the Minor Planet Centre, Michael Rudenko, decided to name the 'asteriod or minor planet', after Anand officially calling it '(4538) Vishyanand'.Usually, the practice of naming a minor planet is left to its discoverer. However, when the objects remain nameless for over ten years, the International Astronomical Union(IAU) has the final say in deciding what to name the planet.

In this case, the minor planet was first discovered by Kenzo Suzuki in Japan in 1988 and remained nameless for over ten years before it was picked up by Rudenko.

"My two passions in life are astronomy and chess," said Rudenko. "I thought it might be appropriate to name a minor planet in honor of a chess Grandmaster. My thoughts at once turned to Viswanathan Anand who, in addition to being the fifteenth world chess champion, is also an astronomy buff."

In the citation given for the committee to approve the name for the planet, Michael gave this as a brief intro: "Viswanathan (Vishy) Anand (b. 1969) was India's first chess grandmaster. He went on to become the fifteenth undisputed world chess champion. In addition to his passion for chess, he is also an avid astrophotography enthusiast."

Called (4538) Vishyanand, it is a main-belt minor planet. The asteroid belt is the region of the solar system located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter.
Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand now has a minor planet named after him
 

Peter

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A really amazing development. Proud of Vishy and proud to be an Indian.
 

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