One of my first memories is my mother teaching me how to play chess when I was around six. I also remember my sister showing me a club and telling me, 'This is where you are going to play chess'. It was the Tal chess club. I also remember my mother going there with me and talking to the man there, asking him what I could do in the club, and so on.
Thrilla in Manilla
I also remember us moving to the Philippines, and again my mother taking me to tennis camps and chess camps, basically to continue my sporting life there also.
Two years had passed since I started playing chess and I remember playing a junior tournament there. I was very proud when I got a trophy in the end. As we played, I thought I should win, as I felt stronger than the other people; but I finished third, which was a bit of a blow to me. There were two other strong boys. I remember one was called Barcenalla and, I think, he still plays chess. I think I was both happy and disappointed; happy because I got a nice trophy, disappointed because I finished third. I expected to come out first.
When I went to play an Open tournament in Manila much later in 1992, I asked someone there about Barcenalla and he said Barcenalla also had mentioned to someone that he finished ahead of me when we were children! But our paths never crossed and we never met. I think the tournament had a big impact on both of us.
Image: Anand's picture in a school magazine, 1985. Kind courtesy: Aruna Anand
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