Perfect Match

The Perfect Match
KAUSALYA SANTHANAM

What it means to be a star sportsman's wife – especially during a nail-biting contest? Kausalya Santhanam talks to Arti Sehwag, Rhea Pillai and Aruna Anand

The World Cup 2011 final is on. Flags waving, crowds cheering — the excitement rides sky high. But in just the first few overs two of the star batsmen are out. There is pin drop silence as thousands of spectators react with stunned disbelief. The aspirations of a billion Indians seem to go for a fall as the batsmen walk back to the pavilion. The tension is palpable. For the onlookers, the identification with the player and the game is enormous. But what about the ones closest to the players emotionally – their wives who are with them through good times and bad? What do they go through when their partner is engaged in the big fight? What does life with the champion mean?

A chat with the star wives of three leading players, in cricket, chess and tennis – the spouses who score with their support:

Aruna Anand (wife of Viswanathan Anand): I have been with him for 90 percent of the matches he has played during the past 12 years. You can't help being nervous as the stakes are high for the World Championship in Chess and it means training for 10 to 12 hours every day for one year. It gets very personal for me. The 2010 World Championship in Bulgaria was very conflictive. Playing in their own country is an advantage for home players, but sometimes those from outside have to face hostility. Just as we were leaving for Sofia, the volcano erupted in Iceland and flights were canceled. We reached Sofia, exhausted after a 40-hour bus journey. It was a 12 match event – Anand and his opponent were even till the last game. Both of us went for a walk on the evening before the decisive 12th game and we could almost hear our hearts beating. When he won, it took some time for it to sink in. For me, the feeling was one of extreme relief more than anything else. Anand is very pragmatic and even when things don't go well, he will to the gym and then start to work on his chess. When a player loses, it is worse for the wife than for him. When he is in a bad position, journalists and other players try to rub it in and you have to face it coolly and calmly. As for feedback, one keeps one's eyes and ears open, and then there is the woman's intuition. Most people think it is very glamorous to be the wife of a well-known sportsperson. But the other face of sport is the constant struggle. Every result matters. Anand has had every achievement; he does not compare chess or himself to any other sport or sportsman.

More here.

I have been my strongest opponent

I have been my strongest opponent: Abhijeet Gupta
PTI | 07:04 PM,Apr 19,2011

Dubai, Apr 19 (PTI) Fighting off his last round blues, Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta today won the Dubai International open chess tournament and the Indian said it was a "decent comeback" after a series of recent final round hiccups. The title also took Abhijeet past the 2600 rating barrier a feat achieved only by a few Indians.

"This was a decent comeback especially as I have been spoiling tournaments in the last round a few times recently," Abhijeet told PTI in an exclusive interview. Indeed, this had become a familiar pattern for the last five months. Abhijeet was fighting for the shared first place in back to back events at London and later at Groningen in Holland late last year and he lost both the games. In the Parsvnath open in January he was again fighting for the shared first place and went down to Ni Hua of China. Soon after at Chennai he lost the last game against Sahaj Grover and then at Reykjavik open in Iceland recently he got a draw with Ahmed Adly of Egypt and missed out on finishing shared first.

"I have not been winning even a decent prize recently and this was kind of frustrating for the last six months, thankfully came the National team championship that was a confidence booster as I won all the seven games and got back some of the rating points," said Abhijeet, the 2008 World Junior Champion.

That was in February and he has been on a comeback trail since then. Asked if he had a hunch that he would win this tournament Abhijeet said, "I think at the back of our minds we (chess players) want to win all the tournaments. So this might have been a passing thought in my mind as well, but off-course this was certainly one of the strongest ever Asian open tournament and the thought alone is never enough."

It was a sedate start by the BPCL employee conceding two draws in first three games itself. It was only a late 3/3 spurt that gave him the title. "In these events, I have learnt that the last few rounds are more important than the first few. In here I won the last three and that was enough to edge out everyone," the Indian said.

Asked what he did coming into the tournament, Abhijeet was all smiles. "Guess what? We chilled. I and my trainer decided that we will take one game at a time. We discussed some chess in four days that we were supposed to be working but largely it was fun, relaxing," Abhijeet said before quickly laughing off. "And it was a bad start here, so no pressure, if I count the last round (in Dubai against office-mate Parimarjan Negi) out, I think I have been my strongest opponent in the last six months."

Abhijeet goes for an advanced training in Europe from here and will then be taking part in the Metz International tournament in France before coming back.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com

Akhil, Son of the King

On ‘top of the world’ again, Viswanathan Anand is a father
Nihal Koshie

It's going to be a rare April for world champion Viswanathan Anand as he has decided to stay away from chess for the rest of the month. The change of priority came at 6.35 am on Saturday, when wife Aruna delivered a boy. And to make it a family of ‘As’, the first-time parents have decided to call him Akhil.

“We haven’t told many people about Akhil’s arrival. We are on top of the world,” Aruna told The Indian Express today.

An ecstatic Anand, who has been in Chennai for the past two weeks, said “fatherhood has been a learning curve”. “I’ll have to learn a few new things pretty fast. I will enjoy doing all the baby things and being around Aruna and Akhil. We are a bit tired, partly because we have been so excited, but there is no joy that can match that of becoming parents. We have waited for this moment,” said Anand, who has been married for 15 years.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

Anand reaches career-high rating

Anand reaches career-high rating but loses No. 1 spot
Special Correspondent

World champion Viswanathan Anand hit a career-high rating of 2810 in the latest world ranking list released by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).

The rating, effective from Saturday, however, was not good enough to help Anand keep the No. 1 spot he gained since November 1. The second placed Anand had to make way for Norway's Magnus Carlsen who regained the top position at 2814. In the last two months, Carlsen gained 12 points to Anand's six. Armenia's Levon Aronian and Russia's Vladimir Kramnik retained the third and fourth places while the biggest gainer among the elite was USA's Hikaru Nakamura who jumped five places to hold the 10th position.

Among the Indians, second-placed K. Sasikiran climbed two places to be 45th after reaching 2690, up two points since November 1. Third-placed P. Hari Krishna gained 10 points to reach 2667 and jumped from the 87th spot to the 74th.

Sadly, for yet another year, the leading Indian trio could not play in the country due to lack of suitable opportunities.

With the top-10 players of the country averaging 2641 rating points, India is placed sixth among the leading chess-playing nations. Those ahead of India are Russia (2734), Ukraine (2694), France (2654), China (2653) and Armenia (2649). Currently, India has 23 Grandmasters and 72 International Masters among 196 titled players.

The lists: World (Top-10): Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 2814), 2. Viswanathan Anand (Ind, 2810), 3. Levon Aronian (Arm, 2805), 4. Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 2784), 5. Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 2776), 6. Veselin Topalov (Bul, 2775), 7. Alexander Grishcuk (Rus, 2773), 8. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Aze, 2772), 9. Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr, 2764), 10. Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2751).

India (Top-20): 1. Viswanathan Anand (2810), 2. K. Sasikiran (2690), 3. P. Hari Krishna (2667), 4. Surya Shekhar Ganguly (2651), 5. Sandipan Chanda (2641), 6-7. Parimarjan Negi (2607), K. Humpy (2607), 8. G.N. Gopal (2597), 9. Abhijeet Gupta (2590), 10. S.P. Sethuraman (2545), 11. P. Magesh Chandran (2537), 12-14. Deep Sengupta (2530), B. Adhiban (2530), Tejas Bakre (2530) 2530), 15-16. Abhijit Kunte (2520), D. Harika (2520), 17. S. Arun Prasad (2513), 18. Vidit Gujarathi (2495), 19. M.R. Lalith Babu (2491), 20. Deepan Chakkravarthy (2485).

India (Women Top-10): 1. K. Humpy (2607), 2. D. Harika (2520), 3. S. Vijayalakshmi (2454), 4. Tania Sachdev (2391), 5-6. Soumya Swaminathan (2353), Eesha Karavade (2353), 7. Padmini Rout (2336), 8. Nisha Mohota (2326), 9. S. Meenakshi (2323), 10. Mary Ann Gomes (2306).

Source: http://www.thehindu.com

Making chess a pan-Indian game

Anand wants to make chess a pan-Indian game
Mohammad Amin-ul Islam, TNN, Dec 24, 2010, 01.21am IST

NEW DELHI: Viswanathan Anand revels in both roles – a player and an ambassador of the game. Despite his hectic playing schedule, the world champion is visiting Indian cities with a motive: to make chess a pan-Indian game. At the launch of yet another NIIT Mind Champions Academy in an NCR school on Thursday, the 41-year-old spoke exclusively to TOI.

On rural India's contribution to sports....

It's definitely a good sign to see more and more players coming from rural areas. Whether it is Olympics, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games and even cricket, most of these sportspersons are making India proud. I think it is a significant change in Indian sports. For me, I would like to take chess to the rural areas and make it a pan-Indian game.

In the backdrop of Tendulkar's 50th ton, do you think you got a decent media coverage after you defended your World title this year?

Sachin is a great cricketer. But I'm happy to be a chess player and the recognition that I've got from the game. I couldn't have ask for more. I am happy to promote the game in our country.

Should Sachin get the Bharat Ratna?

He (Sachin) has been doing a great job in international cricket. But I am not in the position to suggest awards. I think the main thing is do well in sports and rest is peripheral.

On the prospect of losing world No. 1 ranking (the list will be out next month) to Magnus Carlsen at year-end...

I would want to be the World No. 1 but I think the main thing is to see the ranking as a motivational target. I'm gaining rating points and that is positive. In fact, I'm currently at my career-high Elo rating. I have never been at 2808 or 2809. My earlier best was 2803. I don't think one should worry about rankings.

How do you rate your new challenger Carlsen?

Carlsen has been able to win a lot more games than me. In Nanjing (China), I finished behind him at the Pearl Spring Chess Tournament. He is winning four games in a tournament and I am still a bit low. In terms of world ranking, it is a function of the margin. The margin between us is very narrow.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

20,480 chess players

20480 chess players create Guinness record
Ajit Bezbaruah, TNN, Dec 25, 2010, 04.25am IST

AHMEDABAD: December 24 holds a special place in Viswanathan Anand's life - he had won his first world championship on this day in 2000 beating Alexi Shirov in Tehran.

On Friday, the chess champion also anchored Ahmedabad to a new Guinness record - where the highest number of chess players congregated to play the game.

A smiling Anand who rang the bell to start the proceedings, and was in the thick of things all through the mega event, was visibly thrilled to see Ahmedabad create the new record. In all 20,480 players got together to play chess against 1,024 masters and break Mexico's existing record of 13,446 players created in 2006.

There was a thunderous roar of approval from the crowd when Guinness adjudicator Tarika Wala announced that Ahmedabad holds the new record. She also applauded the fact that there were 140 blind players in the line-up.

"One can't imagine how incredibly proud I am today. I have never been involved in something so big and I am thrilled to be part of this event today. This event will be as close to my heart as all my world championship titles. It is a very important day in my life," said Anand. Chief minister Narendra Modi, who helped facilitate the world record-breaking event, thanked all the participants.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

No. 1 not an end in itself

No. 1 not an end in itself: Anand
Friday , December 24 , 2010

New Delhi: World Champion Viswanathan Anand is likely to lose his No.1 status by next month but the Indian is hardly bothered as he feels ranking is a motivational target rather than an end in itself.

Anand finished joint second in the London Chess Classic last week and is likely to be toppled by winner Magnus Carlsen, in the latest ranking to be released next month. However, the major reason for Anand’s slip would be Pearl Spring Chess Tournament, in Nanjing, where he finished second behind Carlsen.

“It is not because of London that I will lose the world No. 1 spot, it is because of Nanjing… Nanjing gets carried over, it is a bit confusing. I overtook him in Bilbao and he (Carlsen) overtook me in Nanjing and the status quo is maintained,” Anand said, at a promotional, here on Thursday.

“Obviously, I would want to be the world No. 1, but I think the main thing is to see the No. 1 ranking as a motivational target rather than an end.

“As long as I am aiming to be the No. 1 and I am nearby, I am happy. I’m gaining rating points and that is positive. In fact, I’m currently at my career-high Elo rating. I have never been a 2808 or 2809. My earlier best was 2803, so I feel that the direction is up,” he added.

Meanwhile, Anand joined the growing list of top athletes supporting the demand that iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar be conferred the Bharat Ratna.

Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com

Special thanks to Jagadish Dube for sending us the article.

The big dilemma

Top guns stay away from premier event
Rakesh Rao

NEW DELHI: Chess may be one of the growing sports in the country, but its National premier championship has lost the status it once enjoyed among players and organisers alike.

The field for the 48th edition of the event that opens at the Mangalam World School here on Thursday clearly reflects how the event has become insignificant for many big names.

Mercifully, the presence of local favourite Parimarjan Negi, and late confirmations from top-seeded Kochi lad G.N. Gopal and defending champion B. Adhiban of Chennai have provided some much-needed sheen to the event.

In all, 42 players, dotted with 12 Grandmasters and 19 International Masters — including S. P. Sethuraman who is awaiting confirmation of the GM title — form the field.

The champion will be decided over 13 rounds of Swiss League.

Increasingly, the status and profile of the National championship has taken a beating. Strangely, the All India Chess Federation (AICF), in spite of its good intentions, has lacked the flexibility to consider favourably the suggestions of the players.

Leading Grandmasters like K. Sasikiran, P. Hari Krishna, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Abhijeet Gupta — all rated over 2600 points — along with P. Magesh Chandran, R.B. Ramesh, Dibyendu Barua and Sriram Jha are among those who have stayed away.

Due to their ratings in excess of 2650, Sasikiran and Hari enjoy exemption from playing the National championship while K. Humpy and D. Harika are away at the World women's championship.

Not enough

Leading players privately say that inadequate prize-money and low profile of the event had hurt the National championship.

At present, the event offers a paltry Rs. four lakh in prize-money, far less than what is offered in any of the domestic zonal-ranking events in badminton and table tennis.

Most organisers, too, are not keen to host the National championship since it is a losing proposition financially.

With no monetary assistance coming from the AICF and the entry fee from the players not amounting to much, only the pro-active organisers hope to find sponsorship support.

Special thanks to Jagdish Dube for sending us this article.

Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com

Humpy's big assist in Snowdrops victory

Humpy hand in Snowdrops victory
Hari Hara Nandanan, TNN, Nov 30, 2010, 01.56am IST

CHENNAI: The Czech Coal Chess Match held last week was appropriately named Snowdrops (ladies) vs Oldhands. The chess legends of the 20th century vs the rising generation of female players.

You may call it a rematch because the same event was held last year too in Czech Republic around the same time when the snow was falling. India's Koneru Humpy, the strongest lady in the chess world after Judit Polgar, led the Snowdrops to a creditable 18-14 victory over the veterans.

Humpy was the top scorer with six points from the eight games she played (two each with reversed colours against the four opponents) but effectively it was a match of eight rounds in all- play-all system, each round consisting of four games.

Snowhands had a terrific start winning the first round by 3-1, but the veterans drew level with a same score in the next round. The ladies virtually had the match sealed in the next two rounds with resounding wins (3.5-0.5 and 2.5-1.5) taking a four-point lead.

Oldhands consisted of Lajos Portisch, one of the world's best chess players during the 1960s and 1970s, Vlastimil Hort, one of the best Czech players of all time, Dragoljub Velimirovic, champion of Yugoslavia in 1970, 1975 and 1997, known for his combinations and Wolfgang Uhlmann, the best player of former East Germany. Humpy, Lithuanian Grandmaster Viktoria Cmilyte, Philippines-born Australian chess player Arianne Caoli and the Czech Tereza Olsarova formed the Snowdrops quartet.

Humpy's only loss was to Vlastmil Hort in the penultimate round when she played attacking chess and went for a win. The Indian, who will be playing in the Women's World Championship at Hatay ( Turkey) in the first week of December, had satisfying wins over Portisch and Uhlmann in the first half of the tournament.

"Old masters play more practical chess rather than following move-to-move analysis. They try to create problems to the opponent over the board sometimes even by giving away material. I observed that if they get inferior positions they show a lot of determination to find counter-play," noted Humpy about her rivals after the match.

Humpy had good support from Viktoria Cmilyte, who scored 5.5 points. Hort was the top scorer for Oldhands with five points.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com