“Junior world champion, country’s youngest Grandmaster when he became one (Parimarjan Negi broke his mark in 2006) and part of the only Indian team that won a Chess Olympiad medal (bronze, 2014), Pendyala Harikrishna has done enough to draw the kind of attention he doesn’t. But then, a chess player’s journey is seldom followed with the fervour reserved for spectator sports.
Those who pursue excellence do so quietly, hardly creating flutter even when they achieve. Harikrishna’s triumph at Edmonton International in Canada last week can be categorised among those. The 10-player field had Elo ratings ranging from 2733 to as low as 2133, with former World No 2 Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, China’s Asia No 2 Wang Hao and Indian GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly adding weight. Harikrishna drew with them and beat the rest to finish a point ahead with 7.5.
This is likely to secure the 29-year-old a career-best Elo rating of 2740. His 2733 before the event was already the best for an Indian after Viswanathan Anand, whose highest has been 2814. Harikrishna’s world ranking of 25 is third best for Indians after Krishnan Sasikiran, who was 21 in 2007. While Sasikiran has fallen to 76 at 2642, Harikrishna hasn’t dipped under 2700 since September 2013. “Rankings are not so important as they were a couple of years ago. Not many know I was 25 in 2006, although my rating was 2680. So I didn’t feel special when I reached 25. I was happy with my play because that’s what matters. I won a closed tournament after almost three years, after Wijk Aan Zee in 2012,” Harikrishna told Express via email.
“Every victory is important. I played good games and it helps me evaluate my strength. Every tournament gives me a chance to test my skills. If I play well consistently, I can improve further. I’m happy so far the way I’m playing. There are areas to improve. I have to work on them to go higher,” said the player from Guntur, who will take part in club leagues in Turkey and Spain.
The Spanish league is where Anand plied his trade for a long time. A football fan, the former world champion often compared Russia with Real Madrid. Harikrishna too takes interest in other sports. “I like playing tennis, badminton, basketball, table tennis, whichever is available. Don’t read a lot of books. Chess makes me calm and makes me sit,” quipped the BPCL employee, who was coached by Gary Kasparov’s former second Evgeny Vladimirov in formative years. “I’ve been out since childhood. Travelling is the best thing for me!”
This liking for travel has earned him a place on the global chess map, even though the journey has been low-key. As long he keeps heading north, Harikrishna shouldn’t mind.”
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Original source: newindianexpress.com