We were back in Chennai and it was the summer holidays. The four tournaments I am going to mention are very important in my career. The first one happened in Chennai. It was an Open tournament where I met many of those I have now been playing with regularly.
In the first tournament, I won my first four games, and that became my norm for many, many tournaments, to win the first four and then lose or draw the fifth. But, here, I was playing a difficult opponent in the fifth and I beat him! That was very nice because in most of the tournaments I was not able to beat him. Then I won the sixth game as well.
I won the tournament, winning six out of six tournaments.
The reason why I mention this tournament is because it was the start of a run of six months that was pretty magical!
An unexpected boost
Then I went to the National Team championship, which was an important tournament in my career. I won the top board prize there; that is the board prize for the best player on the top board.
I remember we stayed at IIT, Bombay, but my brother and sister-in-law lived very close. So when I fell ill my parents told me to go and stay with my brother. I went and stayed with them and had home cooked food every day; nice rasam and rice. Then, my brother bought a lot of Archies comics and books for me. I used to go from there, win my game and go back home, which was a nice experience. Though I was sick, I enjoyed the tournament.
The important thing was, because I won the top board prize I qualified for the National B championship, which was totally unexpected. There I was, hoping one day I would qualify for the National B championship, and suddenly I was there. I couldn't believe it.
Image: Anand at the 1984 World Youth championships in Paris. Kind courtesy: Photograph: Aruna Anand
Also Read: 'I am aiming for 2800 Elo points'
Advertisement
