|
 The
unusually sunny November Friday saw the fully geared up duo of Harikrishna and Aarthie
taking on the top juniors of Tamil Nadu in a simultaneous display at Hotel Sindhoori Central,
Chennai, here today. The WIPRO Brand Ambassadors were on their way to
Moscow to take part in the FIDE Knock Out World Championships
beginning at the historic Kremlin Palace on 25th November, 2001.
It was a smooth en
passant work as they finished off the young shanks in style in a clock simul that lasted just under three hours. The entertaining day also saw Harikrishna's coach Super Grandmaster Evgeny Vladimirov answering the players and the press, over a variety of questions from preparation to physical training. Present among the elite audience were India's first International Master Manuel Aaron, Petroleum star R B Ramesh, National Under 18 Champion J E Kavitha, National "A" player V Hariharan and scores of others just to name a few.
 Women International Master Aarthie Ramaswamy faced the trio of P Karthikeyan, P Sivasankari and N Srinath, while Grandmaster Pentyala Harikrishna faced T Abhay, T U Navin Kanna and R Aswath. The stars took the white leaving the youngsters to fend for themselves with some preparation. All the three simul games by Aarthie turned out to be Sicilian ones, while for Harikrishna it was a mixed bag of Queens Gambit and Reti openings. The stars weren't troubled much, except for the determined Chennai lad Navin Kanna who missed a possible draw against Harikrishna. Short of time, Navin slipped and lost the game in 53 moves.
Answering the players and their parents, after the simultaneuous display was the enthusiastic trio of Grandmaster Vladimirov, Grandmaster Harikrishna and Women International Master Aarthie.
"I would prefer to keep the secrets of coaching, as I am still an
active coach and have some more time to go," was the jovial reply
of Grandmaster Vladimirov to the spectator query on the secrets of
successful training.
"Use your time
diligently, and don't waste time on forced moves," said Aarthie
on the query as to how to tackle the new time control and the menace
it plays on preparation and players. "Rely on computers for
technique and theory, but practice middle games for greater
improvement," was the advice of youngest Indian Grandmaster
Harikrishna to the keen set of youngsters who were present and avid to
know how Hari exploits computer to his advantage.
 Delivering the closing address for the well organised show, the WIPRO Corporate Brand Manager Ms Rituparna Ghosh added, "We at Wipro feel that it is important that young and talented players should get the opportunity to play the games at the highest levels. Our Ambassadors Harikrishna and Aarthie have been performing with great consistency this year and the efforts and the support that Wipro is giving will go a long way in
popularizing the game in its country of origin."
The
Results
Aarthie Ramaswamy 1-0
P Karthikeyan (32 moves) Sicilian
Aarthie Ramaswamy 1-0 N Srinath (26) Sicilian
Aarthie Ramaswamy 1-0 P Sivasankari (21) Sicilian
Pentyala Harikrishna
1-0 T Abhay (40) Queens Gambit
Pentyala Harikrishna 1-0 T U Naveen Kanna (53) Queens Gambit
Pentyala Harikrishna 1-0 R Aswath (56) Reti |
