For Grandmaster Pravin Mahadeo Thipsay, it was a daunting task, as he played chess simultaneously with 30 players at Hotel DV Manor here on Thursday.
The Mumbai-based GM, who is here to coach young children for a week, met with stiff resistance from the kids and after a gruelling 150-minute ordeal, he defeated 28 of them.
He, however, lost to Sanjana and drew with Sai Anvith.
Eleven-year-old Sanjana, an eighth class student of V.P. Siddhartha Public School, with a rating of 1,315, befuddled the GM with an irregular line in the Ruy Lopez Opening.
The former Under-7 State champion capitalised on the queen’s blunder by the veteran and settled for a win in 27 moves.
“In simultaneous chess, you make reflex moves as there is hardly any time to analyse and act. I made a wrong move and lost. Full credit to Sanjana,” said the affable GM.
Global Chess Academy’s V. Sai Anvith (1250), a Narayana IIT Olympiad School student, gave a tough fight to Thipsay with his London Opening and succeeded in achieving a draw.
For many youngsters, it was an experience to relish as they played for the first time against a Grandmaster of Thipsay’s stature.
Some were keen to do well and played brilliantly, catching the GM off-guard. For Thipsay it was an arduous experience as he circled around in the middle and played continuously for two-and-half hours.
Thipsay said the first two days of the camp on Andhra Hospital premises, were lukewarm and the response was not impressive.
“The kids were not serious. But, soon they began to think and play. Now they are really enjoying,” he added. The event was inaugurated by DV Manor Managing Director D. Nagendra Prasad and he promised to host a lightning chess tournament on April 20. V. R. Bobba of Mustabada Sports and Educational Academy predicted that at least 10 international medals can be won by November 2014 by the students who are attending the camp.
