Kamath apologised publicly on Twitter on Monday, confessing that his Grandmaster-like movements were only possible because of outside help.
“It is ridiculous that so many are thinking that I really beat Vishy sir in a chess game, that is almost like me waking up and winning a 100 mt race with Usain Bolt. I had help from the people analysing the game, computers and the graciousness of Anand sir himself to treat the game as a learning experience. This was for fun and charity. In hindsight, it was quite silly as I didn’t realise all the confusion that can get caused due to this. Apologies,” he posted.
That tweet, however, appeared to have soured the situation further.
Kamath, who has been playing chess since he was a teenager, began the game with a rarely seen move to lose a pawn. But, much to everyone's amazement, he pushed Anand to the limit in a 30-minute rapid game. Instead of waiting for Kamath, who was playing with black pieces and had only seconds left, to run out of time, Anand respectfully withdrew.
Kamath did not react to The Indian Express's text messages or phone calls seeking comment on Monday.
Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay said: “Anand is a master of tactics, accuracy and calculations. Even (world champion) Magnus Carlsen hasn’t beaten Anand in this way. It was obvious that he (Kamath) was getting external help.”
Chess.com, which quickly suspended Kamath's account, stated its Fair Play Team was made up of multiple professionals, including titled players and algorithm programmers.
“Our methods have been thoroughly vetted by mathematicians and data science professionals, and audits have demonstrated that chess.com takes its judgments conservatively and with the certainty that an account will be closed it means it has broken the rules.
The storm did have a silver lining, according to Rakesh Kulkarni, director of chess.com, who stated the event raised almost Rs 12 lakh.