Anand managed to draw

‘I committed a mistake and Anand managed to draw’
August 26, 2010 18:19 IST

For 14-year old Srikar Varadaraj, life will not be the same. In just a day he performed two great feats: emerged the youngest to present a paper during the International Congress of Mathematicians, and forced none other than World champion Vishwanathan Anand to a draw in a game of chess.

The Bangalore boy was the only player among 40 participants to score a draw in the simultaneous games the World champion played at the Congress in Hyderabad.

Srikar comes across as an unassuming lad. His reaction to the draw against Anand: “It was fun and a wonderful feeling to draw the game against this great player.”

However, he was more pleased with his other feat.

“I wrote a paper on differential geometry. It was accepted and I gave a short presentation at the Congress. In fact, I am happier for that,” he said.

But how was it to play against Anand?

“Playing with the World champion, who takes every game seriously, was a completely different experience for me. I would say that it was an inspiring experience; it is hard to believe that a person can be so simple and yet achieve so much.

“I had heard of his greatness from my father sometime back. It was obviously a great feeling to be in front of him and play him. I was fully aware that a Grandmaster would play a strategic game. This made me think strategically. The game was well-contested and, many times, I was in with a good chance. I had the advantage right through, but then I committed a mistake and Anand managed to draw the game,” said Srikar.

Where did he err?

“I traded the queens, thinking he had more pawns. This was the mistake I made. Maybe, I could have won had I played the end-game properly. I drew because this was simultaneous chess. Had it been a one-on-one, I think, he would have busted me in no time. The game was fun, but I was not overawed either, since I did not expect much.”

Here is the full article.