VISWANATHAN ANAND

Viswanathan Anand - The Lightning Kid

Madras had produced India's first International Master, Manuel Aaron in 1961. Seventeen years later, in 1978, Madras produced India's second International Master, V. Ravi Kumar. Anand too started playing in local tournaments.

In the same year the boy's life took a new turn. His father, who worked with the Indian Railways, was sent to the Phillippines for a project. Anand and his mother also went with him. Anand left chess-crazy Madras to go to a chess-crazy country - the Philippines! Asia's first Grandmaster, Eugene Torre, was a Filipino. Florencio Campomanes, who was the President of the world chess organisation, FIDE, at that time was also a Filipino.

And the famous world chess championship match between Soviet Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov and Victor Korchnoi, also took place in Philippines' capital Manila in 1978. Chess was the biggest sport in Philippines. It seemed as if Anand had reached paradise.

read more.. http://www.pitara.com/magazine/features/online.asp?story=38

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