The Hindu : Sport : New faces will boost India's chances: Anand

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006

Sport

Sport

New faces will boost India's chances: Anand

— File Photo: R. Ragu

Viswanathan Anand.

New Delhi: The inclusion of fresh faces will boost India's chances in the upcoming chess Olympiad, Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand said as he prepared to spearhead India's campaign for the second successive time in the premier competition.

``The team is a good amalgam of style, people and geography. Clearly, all the members of the team have been showing good progress in the last year,'' Anand said.

``So I would say we are going with a good team although many things need to fall in place. But I think motivation will be the key mantra and the boys and girls clearly have a lot of it,'' he told PTI in an e-mail interview.

Not committing

The world number two, however, did not commit on his team's medal chances in the tournament to be played in Turin, Italy, from May 19 to June 5.

``It is too early to talk of medals. Ask me after the 13th round,'' he said about the podium chances of India which had finished sixth in the last edition in Spain.

Anand said he was impressed with new entrant Diwakar Prasad Singh who had provided a new perspective to the team.

An asset

``He played very well in the Indian championships. Clearly he is an asset to the team as he will provide some new perspective. He is tactically very sharp and I would say he is the discovery of the (National A) championship.''

On his own goals and motivation level after crossing 2800 Elo points, Anand said he was enjoying his game and still had a lot to learn.

``I never think of how much I have achieved or how much more I can. My main aim is to enjoy each game I play. Every time I work on chess my fascination for that position triggers my need to learn more. In a way, that is where I get my energy for chess,'' the 36-year-old Indian said.

Anand also spoke highly of National `A' championship, the country's premier chess event, and appreciated how players vied closely for an edge.

``I think it is a very exciting event. In the beginning it looked (Koneru) Humpy was running away with the event. It was indeed sad that after such a great start she was not able to keep up in the last rounds. She passed on the baton to Deepan (Chakravarthy). He also played an excellent event,'' he said.

Deepan lost the title by just half a point to Surya Shekhar Ganguly, who claimed the honours for third time on the trot at Visakhapatnam last week.

``Deepan has got his GM title. I interacted with him while he was in Spain. He is a very nice person and I am quite sure he will be able to prove his true mettle. His performance in the ONGC Open was also very impressive.

``The last few rounds became very close with both Deepan and Surya losing in the penultimate. But it made the event exciting for me. In the end, Surya showed more experience and he kept his cool.''

Shocking ouster

About Deepan's shocking ouster from the Turin-bound team, he said: ``I spoke to him after the event and his mother was really upset that Deepan missed by a very narrow margin. Sport by itself can be very cruel at times.''

``Somehow you cannot explain it or find justice. These things happen. They are just part of the learning curve. I told Deepan to forget about chess for the next week and enjoy his GM title,'' Anand said.

``I am sure his performance will serve as a good stimulus for him. Deepan plays very sharp lines and is adept at both theory and non theoretical lines.''

Anand also praised young Kolkata player Neelotpal Das, the country's latest Grandmaster.

``I think chess as a sport in India is flowing with accolades. We got two GMs on two consecutive days. In 1987, I was the first GM, we added five more very slowly now we are at 14.''

Different talent

``Each one of them has a different talent. I think all that I can say is personally I am just very proud to see each wave of players emerging with a lot of talent, hardwork and an eye on the top.

``Yes, I did meet Neelotpal in Madrid. In fact, he played for 10 minutes in my neighbourhood. A local TV picked up the news that an Indian was playing close to my home and that is how we knew Neelotpal was there.''

``He is also an extremely nice boy and clearly his stint in Spain has given him a lot of confidence and exposure. These opens are very tough as there are very strong GMs. Neelotpal held his ground and I am sure he will benefit from these closely contested events.''

Looking forward

Anand said he was looking forward to be part of the Doha Asian Games later this year but was unsure about the format.

``The format is not known to me as yet but as far as I know the proposal was that there will be three players from each country in the men's event.

``I am in touch with the sports agency doing the Asian Games. There are still some grey areas about the format and events. Hopefully it will get sorted out soon. I am looking forward to being there,'' he said. — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail