Veni,vidi,vishy:Part I

 

31^st August, 1981.The tournament hall in Madras is abuzz with excitement. The first round of the traditional Kasturi Cup Tournament is about to commence. The event has   attracted 80 entries from all over India. The Premier section is made up of well-known masters, T.N Parameshwaran and Raja Ravisekhar among others.There is also a Reserve section with 40 players. Among them is an 11-year-old from Don Bosco Matriculation School. No, he has not been allowed to play in the Premier section. He is too young for the big league. He looks askance at the seniors and wonders how he can catch up with them. The boy’s name is Viswanathan Anand. He wins the Reserve event with a tally of 7.5 points out of 8. He also wins the Open Blitz tournament. A star is born.

Anand’s formative years marked the progress of a precocious chess talent. Success alternated with failure. In December 1981 he participated in the Tamil Nadu State Junior Championship. Arvind Aaron the reigning champion retained the title, scoring 6 points in a 7-round swiss for 24 players. Anand shared 2nd-4^th place with Ebenezer Joseph and K.Nallasivam with 5 points. In their individual encounter Arvind Aaron beat Anand in a remarkable game.Aaron, better known as a chess journalist today, modestly denies his success, maintaining that Anand was too young at that time.

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