He got interested in chess while watching his uncle and cousins follow the game. He started competing at the age of 10 in 2000. A year later, he started winning tournaments! From that point it has been steady progress for the youngster. Meet Ashwin Jayaram, the current Asian junior champion who wants to be a full-time chess player.
It was second time lucky for the Bangalore-based Ashwin, who missed out on the tie-break despite tying for first position in 2007. In 2008, he pipped compatriot MR Lalith Babu in the tie-break to win his maiden Asian Junior crown in Chennai and got his second GM norm in the process. He won the tournament without losing a single game and defeated top seed and world U-16 champion B Adhiban on his way to a title triumph.
Ashwin had an outstanding 2007, becoming International Master, securing a GM norm, besides stunning highly rated Igor Khenkin in a tournament in Europe. It was the culmination of years of hard work, working with books, coaches, computers and analysing his own ever-improving game.
In the initial stages of his career, solving problems and going through chess classics helped Ashwin. Later on, as he became a better player, he found Mark Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual valuable.
When queried on the role of coaches who have played a part in his growth, Ashwin had this to say: “I went to the Chess Mate academy as a beginner. That was important for getting exposure and playing with a lot of kids. Then I was coached by D Ganesh (national-level player), Manuel Aaron (International Master) and GB Prakash (IM). Now I work alone and occasionally train with Indian and foreign GMs.”
Ashwin, who works on his game for nearly eight hours a day, and is passionate about the game, says he has to improve in a lot of areas, especially his technique.
The current generation of chess players enjoys playing on the Internet. Ashwin is no different and loves testing his skills against different players on the Internet.
The 18-year-old admires the approach of Veselin Topalov and Levon Aronian. “Topalov plays most of his games with a high element of risk, and Aronian has an unusual chess style which is very fascinating,” points out the youngster.
Ashwin had a moderate 2008, winning the gold medal in the U-18 category of the Commonwealth Chess Championship in Nagpur and finishing 11th in the World Youth Chess in Vietnam, but he ended the year on a high by winning the Asian junior crown.
“It was a great finish to a modest year. I tied for the Asian junior title last year but missed out due to tie-break rules. So it was very nice to win the title this year,” says Ashwin of his title triumph.
His parents hold masters’ degrees from the IIT and have been his friends, philosophers and guides. “Right from my early school days, they have given me the freedom to think and share my thoughts with them. When I told them I wanted to focus more on chess than studies, they pulled me out of school and provided me the opportunity to do more of what I like. They have absolute faith in my potential. My mother left a promising professional career to travel and be with me at chess tournaments. My sister, Aswathi, also has a role to play. She has pitched in for my sake. It has been a collective family effort,” says Ashwin.
Ashwin, a II PUC student at Sri Bhagwan Mahavir Jain College, Bangalore, also thanks his college for the support provided.
His immediate aim is to become a GM and win the world junior crown. With Indians growing in chess, that is no longer a far-fetched dream. Abhijeet Gupta won the title in 2008 and it will not be a surprise if Ashwin or any one of the talented Indian juniors wins the crown in 2009 even though the competition will be tough.
Ashwin, who had fun watching the Anand-Kramnik match on the Internet, feels that getting a sponsor will reduce the financial burden on his parents. One hopes he gets a sponsor soon, as that will help him concentrate fully on chess apart from giving him the opportunity to compete in tougher tournaments.
hellocard
Name : Ashwin Jayaram
Residence : Bangalore
Age : 18
career highlights
2002 Became state under-12 champion
Became a FIDE-rated player in October
2004 Bronze medallist in the U-16 boys category at the Commonwealth Chess Championship, Mumbai
2006 Bronze medallist in the U-16 boys category at the Commonwealth Chess Championship, Mumbai
2007 Title of International Master confirmed by FIDE
Under-18 silver medallist in the Commonwealth Chess Championship
Silver medallist (joint first) in the Asian Junior Chess Championship
2008 Under-18 boys gold medal
in the Commonwealth Chess Championship, Nagpur
Gold medal in the Asian Junior
Chess Championship and his second Grand Master norm
