And now for a taste of chess
The Hindu
A chess board cake is wowing the people of Madurai and reminding them of the ongoing Chess Olympiad
As a tribute to the world’s biggest team chess championship that is underway in Mamallapuram, the Temple City group of Hotels in Madurai has created a chess board cake complete with 64 black-and-white squares and 32 chess pieces.
eighing three kilograms in two samples of the Blackforest chess cake were made and displayed on August 1 at the Temple City Bakes & Café opposite Mattuthavani bus stand and Melur Road branch. The cakes are priced at ₹ 4,800 each.
“The idea is to convey our best wishes to all the participants from 187 countries who are fighting it out in the tournament and also encourage more people to follow and play the game,” says Lakshmana Kumar, the group’s MD.
Assembling the cake required precision, he says, as the chess pieces had to be crafted to perfection in dark and white chocolate, he adds. The chef can bake the cake in different flavours depending on the customer’s choice but the order size has to be a minimum of two kilograms for the chess cake to look real, he adds.
The novel idea has attracted customers and the staff is gearing up for a wave of orders. “We are expecting chess lovers in the city celebrating their birthdays or marriage anniversaries this month or even later, to order the chess cake,” says Kumar.
When Harithra P, on her way to Chennai with her parents to watch the mega chess event, entered the Mattuthavani Temple City bakery for a snack, she was thrilled to see the chessboard cake. “It looks so real and you wonder whether you would like to play on or savour the chessboard,” exclaims the 16-year-old chess fan.
The Temple City has been creative with its menu in the past. When COVID-19 struck, it introduced mask-shaped parottas to remind people of the importance of wearing a mask and also bondas that were shaped like the virus with spikes.
76-year-old Kurian Jacob from Kerala triumphs with seven medals, including five golds, at the Open Masters Games in Abu Dhabi.
Explore the nature of the human mind as an emergent property of brain activity and complex neural interactions.
CERN's Large Hadron Collider discovers the Xi-cc-plus particle, enhancing understanding of quantum mechanics and baryon behavior.
Vibha Batra’s latest book, Spotless (Hachette India) is a novel in verse for young adults
In its first edition, the Madras Art Salon spotlights the works of journalist and artist Narayan Lakshman at The Botanical Club, a social space in the British Deputy High Commission, Chennai
Cholesterol enhances melanoma cell invasion by making nuclei squishier, revealing a potential treatment target in cancer progression.
The designers reinterpret the Swedish artist’s symbolic forms and colour energy through contemporary resortwear silhouettes
Discover the inspiring legacy of Bibha Chowdhuri, a pioneering woman in physics and a trailblazer in STEM history.
Discover the inspiring legacy of Bibha Chowdhuri, a pioneering woman in physics and a trailblazer in STEM history.
Ashdeen’s Spring 2026 collection features saris inspired by the designer’s Parsi gara archive
Red ochre burials, ritual markings and myths across cultures show that red repeatedly marks liminal thresholds such as puberty, sacrifice and death; anthropologists argue that the colour functions as a technology of collective ritual and value, binding communities through shared symbolic acts
India approves 23 institutions for quantum labs under the National Quantum Mission, aiming to advance quantum technology and research.
India approves 23 institutions for quantum labs under the National Quantum Mission, aiming to advance quantum technology and research.