NEW DELHI: “Honestly, it made me feel like I was the president of a small country,” quipped 22-year-old American Grandmaster (GM) Hans Niemann after his opening-round draw with black pieces against three-time national champion Wesley So at the US Chess Championship on Sunday. The reason for such an amusing remark, however, had little to do with the result of the game; it was the sight of the chief arbiter standing beside the board, holding an umbrella to block sunlight from So’s face. Decoding how a professional player should be treated when they represent a sport at the highest level, the very image from the match, held at the plush Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri, has already garnered mass appreciation. Now, cut to India, where sunlight was the least of the players’ worries. Rat

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