Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa
In the melee of the Indian youngsters creating ripples in international chess, he is a lone man out. Not mentioned when the future is discussed or the present, he cuts a quiet figure. The media doesn’t hound him. He remains the least sought-after.
Make no mistake, but Pentala Harikrishna is alive and kicking. The link between the generation of Viswanathan Anand and the current crop headed by D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin, the 39-year-old remains relevant. Not because he became the first Indian after Anand to annex the world junior title. Not because he is a respected figure either. Harikrishna is a talking point by the dint of his performance.
In the flurry of stars falling at the FIDE World Cup which includes Gukesh, Pragg, Vincent Keymer, Anish Giri and Richard Rapport among others, Harikrishna is one of just the two Indians to have made it to the fifth round. Erigaisi is the other. Today at Rio Resort in Goa, Harikrishna will face José Martínez Alcántara in the round of 16. The player of Peruvian origin, representing Mexico, has been a sensation of this event so far. He does start as the favourite. Is Harikrishna too far behind? No.
“With the psychological edge on his side, the player from Andhra Pradesh, renowned for his strategic depth and superb endgame technique, displayed his full class in the second encounter (of the tie-breakers in Round 4),” the official FIDE release said. “Harikrishna crafted a strategic masterpiece, patiently outmanoeuvring his opponent to secure victory and advance to Round 5.”
It was a roller-coaster of a Round 4 battle between the Indian and Nils Grandelius of Sweden. The former was decisively out in the second classical game after a draw in the first one. Martínez Alcántara had joined the live commentary base at the venue after winning his game and according to his reading of the situation, Harikrishna was “30-70” down. The other experts on the panel opined he was in “big trouble”. Yet, he hung in, patiently and strategically, to eke out a draw to wriggle out of that spot of bother. In the tie-breaker, the player who greets people with a gentle smile had the last laugh.
“Let’s say you play well, that’s good. I mean you can make a draw but when it is more like a normal draw than like some lucky save, it’s a different feeling. It’s nothing to think about whether I am satisfied or not because I have just had two games (matches),” the player from Andhra Pradesh had told RevSportz after his victory in Round 3. With an ELO rating of 2690, he is ranked 36th in the world and was one of the 50 players receiving byes into the second round of this competition.
Not everyone has to scream to make a statement. It can be done in a sedate manner. The senior citizen of Indian chess at the top level currently — if one can use that term — is doing that. He doesn’t get into animated conversations or make headline-worthy statements. He goes about his job in a quiet and unmistakable manner. Experts say that his win in the second game of Round 2 was the game of the event. Harikrishna is carrying Indian hopes with Erigaisi after the departure of some of the favourites. Who knows what lies ahead!
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