Sasikiran joins the GM band

Though, he began playing chess as early as 10, Sasi, as he is fondly known, made headlines only a few years ago. His shortcoming was just one — lacking the attitude to win a tournament. Often, he fumbled after rubbing shoulders with the leaders mid-way into a tournament. But years of hard-work brought him desired results, as he won his first major title — the Under-18 Nationals in 1997. The victory helped him gain confidence and success in the form of a National B title and the National A in 1999 at Nagpur followed. Soon, Sasikiran was tagged as the country’s most promising youngster and a Grandmaster probable.

Thereafter, it was a matter of time as he become the country’s fifth GM and the second youngest to do so at the age of 19, after Viswanathan Anand, who became India’s first GM at 18.

A relaxed Sasi said, “At the start, I never took it seriously. I simply enjoyed the game. But when I got my first International Master norm (in 1997) and simultaneously finished my 10th standard exams, I had to make a choice between chess and studies.”

But then, the Chennai-based Sasikiran had his moments of anxiousness, missing the final GM norm on several occasions. This includes missing out the title at the Goodricke Open (Calcutta) this year but managed to complete the final norm which could not be conferred as a title owing to the three norms spanning 29 games.

However, the ONGC employee was not disappointed. “I knew I was close and it would not take me long to achive it,” he informed. “I was a bit nervous today (Monday) morning. I knew I needed half-a-point and would be playing on the top board.”

Sasikiran, known for his calculated approach on the board, feels learning chess from coaches is still better than learning from computers. “Computer is just for practice. It stores data and it will play only those moves which it has stored. Playing with a coach is different.”

For Sasikiran, his father Shrinivasan Krishnan is the man behind his success. “He is my mentor, coach and trainer too. I owe this title to my father,” said Sasikiran, and added, “to my employers at ONGC too, who have contributed to my success.”

The youngster, who has been playing without a break for about a 45-days now, felt there should be a balance between tournaments. “A player should get a gap between two or three tournaments for preparations and to reorganise one’s mistakes.”

Results (10th round)

IM RB Ramesh (6.5) lost to GM Evengeny Vladimirov (8), IM Abhijit Kunte (7) drew K Sasikiran (7.5), GM Fominih Alexander (7.5) bt GM Safin Shurta (6.5), GM Shariazdanov Andrey (6) lost to GM Maxim Sorokin (7.5), GM Pravin Thipsay (7) bt GM Ibragimov Ildar (6), GM Dibyendu Barua (6) lost to GM Yuratev Leonid (7), CS Gokhale (5.5) lost to IM Reefat Bin-Sattar (7), GM Yuldashev Saidali (6.5) b IM P Konguvel (6), P Harikrishna (6) drew Surya Shekhar Ganguly (6), IM GB Prakash (6) drew Atanu Lahiri (6); GM Goloschapov Alexander (6) drew Sriram Jha (5.5), WIM Swati Ghate (5.5) lost to GM Joseph Gallagher (6.5), IM DV Prasad (6) drew IM Tejas Bakre (5.5), IM Orazly Annageldiyev (6) bt Aarthie (5), IM V Koshy (5.5) drew Sudhakar Babu (5.5), Jayant Gokhale (5.5) drew Dilip Pagay (5.5), WIM S Vijaylakshmi (4.5) lost to IM Ziaur Rehman (6), Deepan Chakravarthy (5) lost to V Sarvanan (5.5), Vikramaditya Kamble (5.5) bt TS Ravi (4.5), Vishal Sareen (5) drew Saheli Dhar-Barua (5), R Sunil (4) lost to Koneru Humpy (5).