CHENNAI: Not for nothing Chennai is known as the Mecca of Indian chess. The city, which is the home of India's greatest chess player and one of the all-time greats in Viswanathan Anand, has been churning out grandmasters at regular intervals. The latest to join the bandwagon is 14-year old Bharath Subramaniyam, who is India's 73rd grandmaster.
Bharath finished 7th in the Vergani Cup chess tournament in Cattolica, Italy with 6.5 points and earned his final and third GM norm.
His first GM norm came at the Aeroflot Open in Moscow (2020). The second GM norm was at the Junior Roundtable Under-21 tournament in Bulgaria in 2021.
Bharath, who is studying in the ninth standard at PSBB, KK Nagar, is delighted to be in an elite company and is keen to work on his game and play against higher-ranked players often to gain experience. "It is really special to have become a GM. Every year, four or five players become GMs in India and I am glad to be one of them,'' said an elated Bharath.
Europe gives players a lot of exposure. There are many open tournaments that help players achieve the various norms. With each tournament being different, players have to adapt, and the costs of participation and travel are also high.
"I had prepared different openings for different styles of Open tournaments. For double rounds a day, I played openings that are zero risk with white. So, if your opponent plays correctly, it will be a draw. There are single-round tournaments where I will play with much more preparation and definitely will take calculated risks. You get enough time to prepare and you know your opponent style and so on,'' revealed the youngster.
Bharath was trained initially by well-known GM and coach RB Ramesh. Now, he trains under coach Shyamsundar. Ramesh helped the youngster grow as a player and also improve his rating.
"Ramesh sir was instrumental in me going from 1324 to 2437 (elo rating). Thereafter, Shyam sir took over. I was with Ramesh Sir for 6.5 years . With Shyam sir, it's been 8 months. Ramesh Sir was the one who strengthened my basics. Shyam sir taught me how to take risks,'' explained Bharath on how he benefitted from both the coaches.
A few years ago, during a chat with Express, former world champion Vladmir Kramnik expressed his desire to coach Indian kids as he believed that the future of world chess was in India. Once his intention was known, Microsense company, one of the strong supporters of chess in India, got the duo of Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand to train budding chess players in the country.
"The camp with Kramnik sir is special. That was a turning point. I learnt Reti from Kramnik sir and I am using this in my openings to surprise the opponent. My aim is to cross 2600 soon,'' said Bharath.
Chess is an evolving sport. With more and more youngsters taking up the game, one has to be on his toes and keep improving, innovating to go up the ladder. So, constant improvement is the key for success.
"My opening preparation has to improve. I need to make 15 moves in less than 15 min on my clock. That would give me 75 min to play the remaining 25 moves. Of course, fitness and time management are the areas I am keen to work upon. I am keen to play all three formats — classical, rapid, blitz. It is like you need to play Tests, one-dayers and T20 to be on top,'' said Bharath using cricket metaphor.
Magnus Carlsen stunned the chess world by winning his fifth World title in emphatic fashion. Ian Nepomniachtchi began by drawing games and matching the Norwegian but later lost steam.
"Well, Magnus won, but I knew beforehand that he was the favourite to win. Nepomniachtchi hasn't won matches like Carlsen has done and this was so critical. When you're taking on a world champion, you need to have a lot of match practice. Nepo did not have that much match practice like Carlsen. Plus, Carlsen is also very fit,'' signed off Bharath.