Chess: For 19-year-old GM Vidit Gujrathi, 2014 is all about aggression
by Ashish Magotra Jan 1, 2014
“A year ago I used to offer draws but I don’t do that anymore, says 19-year-old GM Vidit Gujrathi. I am trying to be more aggressive now. If I want to climb up the rankings, I have to do that.”
The words assume even more significance given that Gujrathi became India’s 30th GM in December 2012. He could have chosen to sit back and bask in the glory of the moment. Instead, he has elected to push on and when the new ratings came out today, he has broken new ground — taking his ELO rating to 2602.
Gujrathi is a former under-14 World Champion and won a bronze medal at the World Junior Chess in 2013. In winning the bronze, he joined an elite group of Indians who have won medals in the world junior champions starting with the gold medal won by Viswanathan Anand in 1987, gold by Harikrishna in 2004, gold by Abhijeet Gupta in 2008 and Bronze by Sahaj Grover in 2011.
“I missed winning a medal in 2011 and as a result, I lost confidence in my game. But the bronze in 2013 was a big boost for me. It helped me get back; it helped me believe that I can compete.”
Vidit became a FIDE Master (FM) in 2005, then in 2009 he made the International Master norm and it was only in 2013 that he finally became a GM. The first year as a GM is going to be vital for him — a chance to move ahead; a chance to surprise others.
It is clear he has the pedigree, though a bit surprising when you consider that he comes from Nasik. The son of a doctor couple, he was lucky that around the time he took to the game, a lot of tournaments were being organised in Nasik.
“I started playing at the age of seven. I had the option of attending two camps – cricket or chess. But since I actually knew chess, I decided to take up the game. Luckily, even though there are no chess clubs there (like in Chennai), they were organising a lot of tournaments and that helped me.”
“For the moment, I am not looking at an ELO rating of 2700. That is too far-fetched. I just want to play and win as many games as possible. The trick for me will to try and string wins together. Thinking about anything else will be a distraction,” Gujrathi told Firstpost in a telephone interview.
To help Gujrathi along is a man who once worked with Garry Kasparov. Yevgeniy Vladimirov, a Kazakh, was one of Kasparov’s seconds in his epic world championship clash with Anatoly Karpov in 1986 and he is guiding the young Indian through his paces.
“The Soviets had their own ways – they used to focus on end-games and the opening. But times have changed. Now, the middle game is just as important. So it’s important to have your fundamentals sorted out. You can’t be weak in any aspect now. If you, are then it’s easy for opponents to pick you off. Chess is very competitive – but thanks to the internet, there are no secrets.”
“From childhood, I have always liked tricky situations and have believed in my ability to pull through. But I realise that there is so much more to chess now,” said Vidit. “A scholarship from ONGC has helped and so has the Lakshya NGO but I need to keep playing at a consistently high level now.”
But one of the side effects of becoming so good so quickly is that Vidit can’t play against his dad anymore.
“He last beat me when I was a seven year old. Now, we just don’t play. Because I am too good,” joked Vidit. “But he does follow the game and he always knows what is happening in the world of chess. I do know that without him teaching me the basics, I wouldn’t have been here.”
However, Vidit is now among the big boys and there is no turning back now. The aggressive approach will help but most of all, his self-belief will be tested to the core. 2014 will be the year we’ll find out what the young 19-year-old is really all about.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/sports
It is the right idea.