Chess player Wesley So met his mother Lotis Key in a Christmas story like no other
The Hindu
Though it was only later that I came to know of her true greatness, meeting Mother Teresa was one of the most establishing experiences of my life, says Key
“This is my mother,” Wesley So introduces Lotis Key to this correspondent during an interview with The Hindu at the National Library in the city.
Until nine years ago, Mr. So, one of the world’s leading chess players, hadn’t even met Ms. Key, who has worn multiple hats in her life, including those of an actor, novelist, horse-trainer, and worker at an orphanage. She is now not just Mr. So’s adoptive mother, but his manager as well.
She is delighted to be in Kolkata again, for the Tata Steel Chess India tournament. It was here she met one of the inspirations of her life, Mother Teresa, decades ago, when she came from the Philippines as a teenager, as part of a school trip.
“Though it was only later that I came to know of her true greatness, meeting her was one of the most establishing experiences of my life,” Ms. Key says. “So whenever I come to Kolkata, I try to visit the Mother House [of the Missionaries of Charity]. Now Wesley also accompanies me there and he too likes it very much.”
It was during a Christmas season, like this one, that Mr. So entered her life. “Nobody in my family plays chess, but my older sister once hosted Bobby Fischer (the man who revolutionised chess) and the younger one dated Eugene Torre (Asia’s first Grandmaster) at college,” Ms. Key says. “I met Wesley at the house of one of my husband’s friends in Minnesota, where Wesley was staying at the time as he didn’t have money for a hotel. He was a student at the time and was making some money by playing tournaments.”
She recalls she felt a connection right away with Mr. So, who had come to the United States after being estranged from his family in the Philippines. “I felt this boy needed help and he seemed very lost,” Ms. Key says. “He knew nobody and had come to America with just one suitcase.”
Later that week, a text message came from Mr. So to the only mobile phone in Ms. Key’s family. It said: “Can I spend Christmas with your family?”
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”