The Hindu : Sport / Chess : ‘Gopal capable of going much higher, should be among top five’

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‘Gopal capable of going much higher, should be among top five’

Stan Rayan

Gopal likely to get into the country’s top ten
‘He is among the hardest workers in the country’

— File Photo

G.N. Gopal

KOCHI: Soon after he became Kerala’s youngest men’s chess champion last year, G.N. Gopal said his next goal was to become a Grandmaster.

The Ernakulam youngster was not even an International Master then. But one could not miss the steely determination in his voice.

The 18-year-old completed his final norm for the title this week at the Asian Zonal Championship in Dhaka and became Kerala’s first Grandmaster.

Only the formalities, of collecting 2,500 Elo points, now remain.

When the world body FIDE’s next list comes up in October, Gopal, an International Master now and India No.11 with an Elo rating of 2,480, is not only expected to complete his GM title requirements but is also likely to get into the country’s top ten.

“He is capable of going much higher, he should be among the country’s best five soon,” says his Chennai-based coach Varghese Koshy.

Elite group

That would mean getting into a very elite group, a revered one which includes Super Grandmasters and world champions like Viswanathan Anand, P. Harikrishna and Koneru Humpy. Clearly, Gopal is a Super GM material.

Surprisingly, at home, many consider Kozhikode’s K. Ratnakaran — Kerala’s only other IM and a former Asian junior medallist — more naturally talented than the Ernakulam youngster.

“May be, but Gopal is among the hardest workers in the country. In a way I am lucky that all my trainees are hardworking but Gopal works the hardest,” says Koshy, who has gained a reputation as being one of the best coaches in the country. “And he is naturally talented in the initiative position.”

Best at Lake Sevan

Gopal career-best performance came last month at the Lake Sevan tournament in Armenia where he made his second GM norm (his first came in the International Open in Kolkata in March).

He jolted many GMs, including the top-seeded Tigran Petrosian, fourth seed Tigran Kotanjian, seventh seed Li Chao and Arman Pashikian to finish a surprise runner-up in the round-robin tournament with a rating strength of 2,620 despite his rating of 2,480.

For the Aluva-based Gopal and his parents — college lecturers Narayana Pillai (Al-Ameen) and Geetha Prakasini (Sree Sankara) — the Grandmaster title has been a happy reward for years of toil and sacrifice since the little kid took up the 64-square game eight years ago.

Spending a lot

“We have spent nearly Rs. 40 lakhs for his chess. We have almost exhausted our PF funds. And I’ll be retiring next year. We have not got any help from the Government or the SAI,” said Gopal’s father.

A few years ago, like jittery batsmen in the nineties, Gopal was often haunted by the home-stretch demons in major tournaments.

“He was often shattered after a loss, took time to recover. He has improved a lot in this regard but psychologically, he has to improve further. He has to learn to detach himself from the board during such occasions,” says Koshy.

And to climb the bigger rungs — the top-ten ladder is a very slippery one — he has to work on his openings further, says his coach. “Especially against d4.”

One can be sure, the young fellow would be burning the midnight oil to work his way through chess’ exciting maze.

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