Chennai: Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand would soon become the first Indian to appear on Slavi Show, a famous Bulgarian television show.

The Indian chess wizard will visit Sofia to promote the game and play a blitz and rapid chess encounter against Bulgarian Grandmaster Veselin Toplov besides appearing on the show, which tops the rating charts in the country, a press release from TNQ Sponsorship, Anand’s exclusive representative company, said here on Thursday.

Previous guests on the show include world personalities like Mikhail Gorbachev, Franz Beckenbauer and Jean Claude van Damme, the release said.

Anand will present the host with a Thanjavur painting. The gift will be auctioned at a later date and the proceeds will go towards a charitable cause, the release said.

The Indian maestro will also play a simultaneous chess match with 20 children. (PTI)