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Confidence is the biggest gain: Negi

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: For nearly two years after becoming the second youngest Grandmaster in chess history, Parimarjan Negi remained a victim of the expectations that he himself gave rise to.

But in the last two months, this 15-year-old has done enough to suggest that he is more than just a participant in the big league. Against all odds, Parimarjan emerged as a front-runner in three successive events in which he twice tied for the honours and won the other comfortably.

He tied for the Kaupthing Open title at Differdange, Luxembourg, in May, won the Philadelphia Open at Philadelphia in June and shared the honours in the prestigious World Open title last week. The World Open is considered one of the strongest open events in the game and attracts many strong Grandmasters.

“I think the most significant gain for me is the confidence these results have brought along. Secondly, I’ve gained around 40 rating points which feels good,” said Parimarjan during a hurriedly-organised media conference here on Saturday and chose to make light of the prize money of over $10,000 that his triumphs brought along.

Key victories

Looking back at the results, Parimarjan pointed to his “smooth victories” over two Grandmasters with ratings of over 2600 and said, “for the better part of the last two years, I had not beaten too many players with ratings of over 2500. So it was great to win against Israel’s Victor Mikhailevski and America’s Alexander Shabalov (in the sixth and eighth rounds) and bounce back into contention for the title,” he said of his key victories in the World Open.

Learning from trainers

Parimarjan, who prepares under noted trainers like Nigel Short (England), Vladimir Chuchelov (Belgium) and Lev Psakhis (Israel) by turns, felt that his improved defensive skills had helped him to salvage draws in a few vital games.

“Unlike in the past, I am taking one game at a time and try to stay unaffected by the opponent.”

His approach has surely made a huge difference to his performances. In each of the last three tournaments, Parimarjan scored seven points from nine rounds and lost just once in 27 games. In comparison, he lost 30 games during 2007.

After a 19-month period that saw an inconsistent Parimarjan’s rating oscillating between a high of 2538 and a low of 2514, happier days are here for the youngster. Currently rated at 2529, his effective rating at present is 2570.

“I think, I am not only winning more against lower-rated players but also scoring more against the higher-rated ones,” said Parimarjan who finished ahead of senior compatriots and fellow GMs like Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Abhijit Kunte and G.N. Gopal in Philadelphia.

Blitz game

Talking about the lost blitz game against Evgeny Najer following a four-way tie for World Open title, Parimarjan made a candid admission, “Till Najer won his marathon final round match, I was not aware that I had the second-best tie-break score.

In the blitz game, honestly, I was not very focused. It was only after I lost that I realised that I should have taken it seriously.” The loss meant Parimarjan lost an opportunity to gain an additional 500-dollar.

Parimarjan, supported by the Tata Group and the Union Sports Ministry’s National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) besides being on scholarships from Air India and Airports Authority of India (AAI), will train under Chuchelov in Belgium from next week before proceeding for the World junior championship starting next month in Turkey.

Placed eighth and highest among the Indian contenders in the past edition of the championship, Parimarjan will try to become the third Indian to win the coveted title by emulating Viswanathan Anand (1987) and P. Hari Krishna (2004).

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