GM Parimarjan Negi of India, FIDE rating 2640, won the gold in the open of Asian Continental Chess Championships despite a last round loss to GM Salem Saleh of the UAE. (Photo from ACC post)
THE LAPTOP --
POWERFUL CHESS LEARNING TOOL
PARIMARJAN NEGI became India's youngest Grandmaster (GM) when he achieved the 3rd and final GM norm at the 2006 Chelyabinsk region superfinal championship in Satka, Russia.
Negi became a GM at the age of 13 years, 3 months and 22 days. His compatriot Pentala Harikrishna was awarded the title when he was 15, breaking Viswanathan Anand's 14-year Indian record of 18 years.
But Negi also broke Norwegian Magnus Carlsen's record by 5 days to become the second youngest GM in chess history.
Ukraine's Sergey Karjakin, who achieved this feat at the age of 12 years and 7 months, remain the world's youngest.
Currently, the youngest GM today is Wesley So of the Philippines, age 14 and the youngest ever player to play for Philippines squad in the 2004 World Chess Olympiad in Calvia, Spain.
Negi attained his International Master (IM) title in December 2005, and has been able to "upgrade" to GM within the short span of six months.
He hired British GM Nigel Short, himself a former child prodigy. Nigel stated that when Anand became a GM at the age of 18 "he was considered very young at the time-- he was one of the youngest ever--but arguably these perceptions need to be recalibrated.
It should be pointed out that the goal-posts have moved somewhat in the intervening decades: one might justly say that they are now considerably wider and that even the England football team might score.
Nevertheless, even a things-were-better-in-my-day curmudgeon such as myself has to acknowledge the profound strength of today's generation.
THE LAPTOP -- that omnipresent powerful learning tool -- was bound to have an impact sooner or later".
Young and strong players today need not go to other country to face stronger opponents as hundreds of strong chess programs are available almost anywhere.
When they are finally ready to play to gain rating points and norms, they are very much well-equipped even in their young ages.
Here is Negi, the chess whiz from New Delhi against a female gold medalist at the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Torino, Italy (another teenager, of course).
White: K. Lahno (FIDE rating 2468) Black: P. Negi (2445)
Sicilian Defence (Najdorf Variation)
Satka, Russia 2006
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. f3 0-0 9. Qd2 Be6 10. 0-0-0 Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 b4 13. Ne2 Ne8 14. f4 a5 15. f5 a4 16. Nbd4 exd4 17. Nxd4 b3 18. Kb1 bxc2+ 19. Nxc2 Bxa2+!? 20. Kxa2 Ne5 21. Nd4 Qb8 22. Qc2?! Bd8 23. Bc4?! Nc7 24. g6 Bf6 25. gxf7+ Kh8 26. h4 Na6 27. Bxa6 Rxa6 28. Bg5 Nc6!! 29. Qc4 nxd4 30. Rxd4 Bxd4 31. Qxd4 Qb3+ 32. Kb1 a3 33. f6 Qxb2+ 34. Qxb2 axb2 35. Kxb2 Rxf7 36. Rf1? Kg8 37. Kc3 h6 38. Be3 Rxf6 39. Rxf6 gxf6 40. Bxh6 Kf7 41. Bf4 Ke6 42. h5 d5 43. exd5+ Kxd5 44. Kd3 Ra3+ 45. Ke2 Ke4 46. Bd2 Rh3 47. h6 Rh2+ 48. Ke1 Kd3 White resigns.
Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 13 & 15
Volume 18 Issue 10
March 16-22, 2009
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