Whatever doubt we may have had over the years as to who is the greatest sportsperson in the country ought to have been put to rest after Viswanathan Anand retained the World chess crown for the fifth time, last four times in a row!

India's first Grandmaster Anand has been India's sporting ambassador abroad after he moved out of India to Europe in search of excellence. Since then he has been the face of the country in a field dominated by cerebral characters the world over.

It was those days when the USSR ruled the chess world. Anand bloomed as a player of class. After showing early promises of his talent – he picked up the rudiments of the game from his mother – Anand went on to conquer the world so thoroughly that none of his compatriots could replicate his success.

He became India's first GM in 1987 and till date 26 compatriots have followed him to the coveted title but none as successful as him in the world of chess. He will continue to be unique at the summit!

At 42, Anand has proved his versatility as an all-round chess player by winning the world championship in all formats: knockout, league and match-play.

The Chennai-born Super GM is one among the six in the world to cross an ELO rating of 2800. The achievement is as tough as reaching the summit of Mount Himalayas! ELO rating is awarded on the basis of performances over a period of time.

Back in India, Anand always evoked a sense of pride among his country mates with his impeccable behaviour and friendliness that was sorely absent in fellow sportspersons of other fields.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sporting award in India, was conferred on him, making him the first recipient of the prestigious award. The Padma Vibhushan followed next.

At a time when the country is divided on who should get the Bharat Ratna, Anand has firmly thrown his hat into the ring making the task even tougher. The credit of becoming the second GM in the country after Anand went to Dibyendu Barua.

Since then Bengal has produced only three GMs: Surya Shekhar Ganguly, who was part of the 3-GM team that helped out Anand during the World Championship, Sandipan Chanda and Neelotpal Das. Mary Ann Gomes is the lone woman GM from the State.

Bengal was considered the second-best State after Tamil Nadu in producing chess talents but lack of proper administrative setup to run the game proved a stumbling block for the game to grow throughout the State.

Selfish officials encouraged factionalism and nepotism so much so that Bengal chess failed to recover to the path of glory despite possessing enormous talent.

Whatever little glory Bengal achieved in the past was due to individual efforts. The All India Chess Federation has recently appointed an ad hoc body to run the show. Bengal is awaiting a new dawn in its quest to produce a world-beater like Anand.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW