HYDERABAD: As a ten-year-old he nurtured a dream to become a Grandmaster and bring laurels to the country. Nine years later his mission has been accomplished. Behind the success of every sportsperson is a coach or a father. But here is a unique case of a mother, Padma Musunur, making a big contribution to her son’s ambition and today both are happy and pleased.
M Lalith Babu earned his third GM norm after he crossed the 2500 Elo rating in the Hastings International Chess Congress which got over in London on Thursday. The 19-year-old Babu became the 26th Grandmaster of India and fourth GM from Andhra Pradesh. Incidentally, the last Indian to become a GM was D Harika, also from the same state. Babu is also from the same city which World runners-up Humpy hails from. Harikrishna is the other GM from the State.
Ever since the Vijayawada-based Babu started to chart his course in the game of chess, his progress was phenomenal.
Initially, to support him, his mother would pitch in with whatever she could afford, but as the demands grew, it became intensely difficult as all her finances had dried up. Then she finally had no other go but to sell off her flat to help her son pursue his rainbow and find the pot of gold at the end of it.
“It is a great feeling to see my son becoming a Grandmaster,’’ said Padma, who credited her son’s new achievement to coach Gangaraju Murali Krishna. “He has been the mentor and coach for my son ever since he spotted him at the age of seven.’’
Babu also got help from Indian Oil and also from Andhra Cricket Association by way of monthly scholarships and a few trips to play in tournaments outside the country. Hailing from a middle class family, Babu was introduced to chess because of his extraordinary thinking ability and memory power. He was spotted by Murali Krishna at the early age of seven. “He was sharp and he could grasp all the moves. I thought this boy was perfect for this game,’’ said Murali Krishna, who started training him since then.
Babu stunned everyone with his game and drew the state’s attention when he won the 46th AP State Chess Championship held at Nellore at the age of 15. He continued his good show and began to make a mark in national level tournaments also. He emerged as winner in the National under-17 championship at Calicut in 2007. It came as a big boost to his promising career. He envisioned himself becoming a champion player.
Murali Krishna attributes Babu’s determination and hard work as the key to his success. “His life began to revolve around chess only. He is a player blessed with a big game,’’ said Murali Krishna.
Babu proved his mastery by winning the silver medal at the Asian Junior championship at Chennai, which also earned him the International Master title. He added another feather to his cap by clinching the Leiden championship in Netherlands, competing with seven GMs. He also scalped a few big players like Atanu Lahiri and Sandipan Chanda when he was hardly 15 years old.
His mother feels Babu could have got his GM much before had he got opportunities to play in big international tournaments. “It was unfortunate that he could not get the same financial aid as other chess players got from the state,’’ said Padma. Babu got his first GM norm and final IM norm in 2008 in Spain and the second GM norm at the Chennai Open in 2010 where he finished joint second. According to Murali Krishna, Babu’s end-game is very sharp. “He is an aggressive player. He has an all-round game, can play the opening and end-games equally well. But he is a very good end-game player,’’ said Murali Krishna.
International master Lanka Ravi feels happy that Babu has become a GM. “It is a very big challenge for him now onwards. He is a talented player. He has to get into good habits. He needs to play more tournaments and keep on improvinge,’’ said Ravi.