& advance HBD to El Eugenio!

BTW what happened to the chess nook in the QC memorial circle? I came to know of it when it was no longer there. Drats! And to think I was ready to lose games with my dog to console me just in case.

Anybody knows what was the reason for its closure? All I see now in the park are religious freaks (sorree.... I'm a lapsed Catholic).

Guadalupe Complex is just too seedy for my taste and the players are the 24/7 types with probably sores on their butts from sitting too long.

Happy Happy Birthday!

<Gibe> and <Pulsar> go there every day.

A very nice read:

Of course, I remember. He was very small then. Must have been eight or so. I saw him participating in two tournaments before he moved to Manila with his parents; and in one of the tournaments, he wept because one of his moves was bad! In the very next tournament conducted by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, he played very well, better than what he did in the earlier one. Considering his age and the interest he had in the game, he was given a special consolation prize. That day itself, I felt that he was capable of reaching greater heights.

What exactly about his game impressed you?

He looked and behaved very intelligently. Even though he was only eight, he played like a 15-year-old. But it was quite evident that he lacked practice in playing tournaments. He used to be very nervous in the beginning of play and picked up courage as the game progressed.

<What changed his fortunes was his father's stint in The Philippines. Had he remained in India, I am not sure whether he would have developed into such a fine player or not.> We must thank his father's job, I think. Those two years in Manila had an amazing impact on Anand as a chess player. <Because the first Asian champion was from Manila,> the television networks there gave a lot of importance to chess. So, in those two years, he watched numerous great games and also played many.

By the time he came back, he was a totally different player; very confident and impressive. After that, whenever a Grandmaster came to Madras, we would arrange for him to play against Anand.

Let me tell you another incident. This happened after he came back from Manila. Manuel Aaron was the national champion then and Anand defeated Aaron in a match. I feel he could do that at such a young age only because of the practice that he got from Manila. See, defeating the national champion at the age of 12 or 13 is not a joke. I also must tell you, in the very next match, I defeated Anand! [laughs]"

Take your picks, or place your bets! Experience vs Youth, Asia vs Europe.

How would you describe each one's playing style?

<Then I went to Manila, the Philippines, at the invitation of Florencio Campomanes who I had played several times when he visited Copenhagen a year earlier.

Unfortunately there was a mixup and an international event I'd hoped to play in had already started. Florin Gheorghiu, an excellent player who is fluent in many languages, won easily.

Well, Florencio promised simuls, he only got me one. Instead of being paid I basically had to make a bet with everyone! What that means is if I scored under 50% I'd lose money. The problem is if you bet $10 per board and score 20-10 you'll only gain $100. Although I scored 24-4 it wasn't very prosperous.

Well, I thought at least I could find some blitz opposition, but that too was tough as most of the players were either poor or unwilling to bet anything worthy. The only game I got was with a young kid and I'd have to give 5 to 1 time odds. After two games I knew it was too much odds. That kid turned out to be Eugene Torre, the future GM!>