Srinath back with a bang

[1]

Chess ace N. Srinath is back in news. The Chennai lad, who stole the limelight by winning the world under-12 boys title in 2005, caught the attention of pundits when he bagged the International Master title in 2008, pocketing norms in three different tournaments held on foreign soil.

Recently he took his first step towards becoming a grandmaster by winning the Asian junior chess championship that came with the bonus of a GM norm at Tashkent.

Touted as a future star ever since he won the world U-10 title, Srinath has experienced many ups and downs in his career. “Complacency is my biggest enemy.

It has led to many a poor performance. I’m trying hard to remain alert until the last round in every tournament,” the youngster told this newspaper.

“I was on my way to retaining the world U-12 title in 2006, but I relaxed a little bit towards the end and was pipped at the post. I had to be content with fifth place,” Srinath added.

Nonetheless, the boy continued to stay afloat in the competition in his age category and managed a seventh place in the world U-14 championship in 2008.

The year also turned out to be special for the little champ, who made his third IM norm in a tournament in Italy to become an International Master at 14-years of age.

But, then, his career did not prosper as he expected. “I didn’t have proper guidance. I also couldn’t get enough financial support,” Srinath added.

The 18-year-old Srinath is currently under a scholarship from United India Insurance. He is guided by GM Abhijeet Kunte of Pune.

“My current target is to improve my rating and achieve the GM title as early as possible. I will be playing a series of international tournaments in the coming months in pursuit of the remaining two GM norms.

My ultimate goal is to become a professional chess player,” he said, adding that the GM title has now become a basic requirement to jump start a career in chess. The chess champion is no slouch either at studies.

He has joined Vivekananda College in commerce stream after scoring 94 percent in the Plus Two examinations.