Chennai: Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand has been roped in by Poker Sports League (PSL), a premium league in the country, as its brand ambassador.
The league, which commenced operations last year, recently launched its second season on a much bigger platform with multiple new additions.
"Poker, like chess, is a mind sport. Proud to be associated with PSL," Anand wrote on his Twitter handle.
"In the last couple of years, we have been observing a paradigm shift in people's mindset for poker as a sport. The zeal displayed by poker lovers has given rise to a lot of platforms," Anand was quoted as saying in a release.
"My association with PSL is an attempt to establish the fact that Poker, like the game of chess, is indeed a game of skill, which involves a lot of strategy and a defined skill set," he said in the release.
"I have played chess all my life and when I was introduced to poker I could instantly draw the parallels, which made me connect better with the game," Anand added.
"PSL's main objective is to establish poker as a mind sport in India. We are proud that Anand agreed to be our brand ambassador. It's the biggest move ever - towards changing the negative perception of poker in India, PSL co-founder Pranav Bagai said.
