.jpg "ANANDS HEIR Aravindh prince of chess from Madurai")
Kochi: A 14-year-old whose idol is Carlsen wins grandmaster tournament
The king has lost his crown, but a prince has emerged. Madurai kid Vr.
Aravindh Chithambaram, 14, has served notice of his prodigious talent by winning a grandmaster tournament here ahead of 21 GMs, five WGMs, 30 IMs and three WIMs in Chennai on Saturday.
He’s only a Fide Master, a title many rungs lower
than the top players in the game.
The current Asian U 14 champion defeated four GMs -Drazic Sinisa (Serbia), Ter-Sahakyan Samvel (Armenia), M.R.
Lalith Babu and M. Shyam Sundar (both India) — and two IMs to score nine points from 11 rounds and win his first big title.
Aravindh, seeded 53 in the tournament, also earned his first IM and first GM norms in the process.
“I am very happy. I did not expect to win this tournament. In the final round, I was holding a minus position against GM V. Vishnu Prasanna, but he made a
mistake and I was able to draw the game,” Aravindh told DC. The Madurai boy lost his father when he was three years old and his mother Vr. Deivanai earns her livelihood as a small savings agent.
The family moved to Chennai recently because Velammal School here has promised support for Aravindh. The ninth standard student, who idolises newly crowned champion
Magnus Carlsen, is India's youngest national junior champion after he claimed the U-19 tournament as a 11-year-old. GM Pravin Thipsay said “Aravindh is the most talented youngster in the country.“
Thipsay said Aravindh is a typical example of the Carlsen era. “He doesn't prepare much during tournaments but tries to win every game. His calculation is excellent.“
