The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Indian chess flowing with achievements, says Anand

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Monday, Aug 01, 2005

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Indian chess flowing with achievements, says Anand

Rakesh Rao

NEW DELHI: The leading names of India's pre-teen brigade of chess have left Viswanathan Anand hugely impressed. Even before Sahaj Grover and N. Srinath returned with gold medals from the recent World Youth Championship in Belfort, France, Anand had been keeping an eye on the prowess and progress of the prodigious Parimarjan Negi and S.P. Sethuraman.

Though busy with preparations at home in Spain for his upcoming Mainz Chess Classic match against Russia's Alexander Grischuk, Anand took time off to share with The Hindu, what he felt about these new kids on the block.

"I have been following these youngsters. Regarding Srinath, I have been communicating with his father quite often. In fact, I spoke to Sethuraman just before he left for Belfort. For some time these two boys have been the most promising talent from Tamil Nadu. Negi and I actually played in the Corus tournament (at Wijk Aan Zee, in Holland) this year. He is a very sweet boy and he played a tournament that was really strong for him. I was really impressed that he decided to annotate one of his losses for a chess magazine. This talks a lot about his attitude and about how he can handle defeat and success with great maturity."

Anand went on to assess the performance of each of the four boys at Belfort:

On Srinath: I think Srinath is a stable player. He seems to slowly outmanouevre opponents and never takes undue risks. I attribute his victory to his steadiness. He beat both his compatriots (Negi and Sethuraman). He was really lucky in his game against Negi (which I suppose bodes well for Indian chess).

On Grover: Sahaj Grover was impressive, with just one very unfortunate loss in the ninth round. Winning seven straight games is no mean achievement. He played way above his rating. His performance really stood out. I read his interview about winning and it was really nice to see him anxious to meet his parents. It reminds me of my junior days.

On Sethuraman: Sethuraman has a very dynamic style — he made only one draw. He plays aggressively and takes the battle to his opponents. Both his defeats came as a result of his trying too hard, so he will have to temper that a bit. If he can do that, he will be very dangerous for his rivals.

On Negi: Parimarjan is making steady progress in many facets. He is an all-round player, but I suppose he is simply a bit tired after his intensive schedule this year (because he made some simple errors, especially in what proved to be the decisive game of the event against Srinath).

Anand observed that there has been a proliferation of age-group category events. "This may give a child a lot of motivation on a continuous basis but an age-group category event should not be the only yardstick to measure success or be the sole motivation.

"I should say Indian chess has been flowing with achievements. During my recent trip to India, I interacted with a lot of chess playing kids from various parts of the country. I was really overwhelmed to see the high level of interest among the children and the fun they had. What also struck me is the quiet dedication of their parents and in many cases, their coaches, too."

Significantly, Anand had one piece of advice for all chess-playing children, parents and coaches. "I think children should be allowed to enjoy the game. Parents and coaches can provide the ideal environment for a child to play chess. Titles and awards is a nice incentive but should not be the only one. I get parents had children asking me for 10 tips to become Viswanathan Anand. I think there is only one. Enjoy the game without any pressures and learn the game through curiosity and interest. The results, whatever they are, will satisfy you. Even at the highest levels, chess has to be played with passion otherwise you pay for it dearly. This passion only comes when I play happily."

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