Everything has come together now: Aravindh

Aravindh Chithambaram, the rising star of Indian chess, impresses with Prague Masters win and newfound confidence.

Aravindh Chithambaram is the new poster boy of Indian chess.

The 25-year-old, considered a late bloomer and one whom his coach R. B. Ramesh said, “is the most talented player after Viswanathan Anand”, has again made waves after winning the Prague Masters on Saturday, defeating strong contenders such as the Dutchman Anish Giri, Wei Yi of China and Germany’s Vincent Keymer.

With two classical titles in a span of four months, what has changed for Aravindh? “It’s better late than never. I don’t know what exactly happened. Something has changed. I am unable figure it out. Everything has come together” Aravindh told The Hindu here on Sunday.

According to the Chennai GM, the Prague win was sweet because he played some really good games and enjoyed all of them. “I loved my games with Anish Giri, Wei and Keymer. With Anish, I found a good sequence of moves (Queen h4 and Knight g5). I took a risky opening. Generally, it’s considered to be objectively bad. According to the engine and general analysis, the move was considered risky. I thought why not try this. It turned out to be a good decision,” he said.

Against the Chinese GM, Aravindh said it was preparation that helped him secure a win. “It’s very hard to beat Wei. In general, Chinese are very hard to beat. But with Wei, I was well prepared.”

Against Keymer, Aravindh played the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, a unique opening . “It’s a rare line for which Keymer was not prepared,” said the Prague Masters champion.

Indian men’s chess, opined Aravindh, is so strong that the country can field as many as three if not two teams for Olympiads in the future.