Meet the second youngest Grandmaster

Call him a genius. At an age when most kids are busy in learning the basics of their preferred discipline, Parimarjan Negi, 18, became a master of the brain-game – Chess, nearly six years back. Made a number of histories, before and since then, in different championships worldwide, he, at present, is the second youngest ever on the all-time list of the grandmasters. The child prodigy made it possible at merely 13 years and 142 days by achieving final Grandmaster norm in Satka, Russia on July 1, 2006. Prior to that, he accomplished the International Master title at the age of 12 and is the youngest Indian GM and IM, as well. Son of a civil aviation ministry’s employee father and a finance ministry’s employee mother, Parimarjan now is a student of class XII in a prominent Delhi school, with a great academic record, scoring about 90 per cent. Currently, having an Elo rating of 2603, Parimarjan, also happens to be amongst the youngest Arjuna awardees. In a conversation, the chess ace talked about his achievements, family, future.
Q: When and how did you start playing the mind game?

Parimarjan Negi: A friend of my dad introduced me to the game, and I took it up as a hobby like many other things at that time. And, slowly it developed into something more for me.

Q: Tell us about your family support or pressure?

Parimarjan Negi: My parents were encouraging me to discover my potential in chess from the start. Even though there are lots of pressures through the course for the last many years as a chess player, they have always been supporting me in every possible way. My parents have played the most crucial role in developing and shaping my chess. When no sponsorship support was available, my parents made several sacrifices to keep me going. I can’t thank them enough.

Q: Tell us about your coaches who carved you this way?

Parimarjan Negi: My first coach for many years was G.B. Joshi. He played a crucial role in the first stages of my development. At some point then I started needing (more) stronger trainers to reach the level of Grandmaster and I worked with few Russian trainers. And, since becoming a Grandmaster too I have continued working with few. My current trainer is Vladimir Chuchelov from Belgium. All of them have of course played their important contributions through my career, and it’s difficult to pinpoint any one as the most influential.

Q: Who is your role model in the chess? What do you find special in him?

Parimarjan Negi: Vishwanathan Anand. As a youngster he was an Indian icon that I could look up to...and get motivated by. Occasionally, when we meet, he encourages me and also teaches me some finer nuances of the game.

Q: How do you strike a balance between your study and the chess, as you have to tour quite often for different championships?

Parimarjan Negi: I am really not able to attend school like a regular student, and so through most part of the year I remain away from the textbooks      syllabus...but before exam times I catch up with it, of course with a lot of support from my school and the teachers there...with extra classes etc.

Q: What changes have you observed in yourself since the day you won the youngest Grandmaster title?

Parimarjan Negi: Becoming a Grandmaster was my first step towards maturing as a chess player. I was still very young then and it had all come very fast for me. So, it took me a while to get used to the title...and to the responsibilities and expectations that came along with it but over the years I have developed much more as a player.

Q: Which is the most difficult part of chess?

Parimarjan Negi: There are many difficult parts which I've to work on in my game, but I would say the most difficult part is losing games, especially when it happens because of some careless moves....when I could've easily averted the loss.

Q: Any particular achievement that is very close to your heart?

Parimarjan Negi: Actually, winning any tense difficult game leaves a lasting impression that’s hard to forget. As for any particular accomplishment, achieving my grandmaster title was one.

Q: How much time do you spend on chess daily?

Parimarjan Negi: I usually practice six hours daily when not playing in tournaments or not going to school.

Q: What’re your aims and targets?   

Parimarjan Negi: To reach the world elite in chess.

Q: Any message to the aspiring chess players?

Parimarjan Negi: Everyone should just focus on the small goals, rather than getting daunted by the big ones that seem far away.... Chess is a game of mind, which requires mental agility. So, work hard with sheer dedication. Enjoy the game instead of thinking about its result.