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Champions are not born, Vasu. They are made. And no one really makes them. Champions make themselves.’
‘There is no magic pill. Whatever you want in life, you have to earn it. And remember, chess is not a game,
I felt like a caterpillar crawling out of my cocoon to become a butterfly.
I made every move as if my life depended on it. The caution and calculation paid off
What does the old man think? I can’t win without him? Revolt has a strange way of giving you strength. It gives you the energy and conviction to stand up for yourself. Even if foolishly and temporarily, it makes you fearless. Right then, I was so mad that I could have taken on anyone. I wanted to crush my opponent and that’s exactly what I did.
Do you even know how distressed I was?’ I complained. ‘I got so distracted, I lost my games.’ ‘Rule number one: focus,’ he replied. ‘Never let anything distract you. Ever.’
You are like the puppy that gets distracted at the sight of a biscuit. A true grandmaster never lets anything distract him. Ever. It could be your mother’s dead body lying next to you but you must play your game calmly.
No matter how lucrative it appears, no matter how hungry you are, never rush.
You go at your pace and I’ll reach at mine. This is something you should know in the game too: never let your opponent alter your pace of play with his moves, tricks or gimmicks. Learn to move at the pace you are comfortable with, learn to alter it effortlessly when necessary. You make fewer mistakes that way.
Let’s play to win.’ My teacher smiled at me. ‘Chess should be the only thing on your mind. When we get tired of analysing, we’ll play; when we are tired of playing, we’ll analyse; when we are tired of both, we’ll watch others play; when we are tired of watching, we’ll do chess riddles; when done with riddles, we’ll play rapid; when tired of rapid, we’ll play blitz; when we want to take a break, we’ll play blindfold. The only rest you’ll get is either during sleep or while at school. Are you up for it?’
‘Promise me, Nandu, you will never let anyone intimidate you. Ever. No one is going to come and wipe your tears out there. It’s a rough world. Whatever the gimmicks, ultimately, the player who plays better wins. There are no two ways about it.’
‘Never let anyone intimidate you. Ever,’ he said. ‘You have as much right to your dreams as anyone else. You have as much claim over victory as the greatest out there. Never let anyone take that away from you, Vasu. Don’t you ever let anyone intimidate you! You understand?’
‘Imagine building a hundred-metre long tunnel. Even at the ninety-ninth metre, when the end is only a metre away, you won’t see any light. If you want success, you must go right till the end.’
To win, you must play good moves and do so consistently.’ ‘The same goes in life too,’ he continued. ‘A consistent and persistent man of average intelligence is more likely to succeed than an erratic and lazy genius. A hundred well-played draws, or a hundred lost but well-fought games are better than one victory by fluke. Success by design is infinitely better than a win by chance.’
‘a good chess player is able to make and modify his plans at the last minute.
Master was not just a teacher. He was a practitioner. He practised what he spoke about and he spoke about what he practised. He lived by what he stood for. His priorities were clear. His life had only one theme, he only lived for one passion – chess.
If there was a break of more than five minutes, I would set up my board and start practising variations.
‘Be it life or chess, that’s the only difference between a grandmaster and an amateur. An amateur expects to reach a different destination by walking the same path. He hopes for miracles or serendipities. A grandmaster, on the other hand, relies on his own effort and intelligence. He does not commit the same error twice.’
Our obstacles and adversities add to the euphoria of triumph.’
‘Mediocre behaviour is not befitting of great people. Just like average play doesn’t lead to winning in chess, average demeanour does not lead to great things in life.’
‘Forgiveness is love. Acceptance feeds love. When you accept the other person the way they are, you begin to respect how they are. You begin to value what matters to them. Forgiveness for their mistakes arises naturally. Love blossoms like a lotus upon sunrise then. And when you are in love, everything feels all right. No matter how life actually is, it just feels right.’
‘love is not about winning but offering. The first gambit is care, second appreciation, but it’s the last gambit that matters the most.’ ‘And that would be?’ ‘Self-sacrifice. Until you offer yourself wholeheartedly, you can’t win. In love or in anything else.’
‘Don’t judge him for what he says, see him for what he does.’
‘Go back to the basics,’
‘You are not there to win the tournament. You are there to show the world that you know how to play the game. Better than them. One move at a time.’
‘Always annotate all games,’ he said. ‘It is how we go back into your head to know you better. And the more you know yourself, the better you become at everything you do.’
Never judge your opponent: not from their appearance, manners, way of talking, words … from nothing. Not even from their game. Just don’t judge them.
may not have been the best move, but sometimes it’s not about the best move at all. It’s just about a fulfilling, wholesome move. Sometimes, the best way is to enjoy the journey with your co-traveller than rushing to the destination. For the joy of seeking is more exhilarating than attaining what’s sought.
But, Vasu, always remember, the more intimate a relationship, the less it is about things or gifts. It’s always the small gestures that make all the difference. Some action that shows you understand, care and love. Words that make the other person feel wanted, important and loved. And gifts often fail at conveying that message.
‘And that’s the difference between real life and chess,’ he added. ‘Unlike chess, it’s not your opponent but your loved ones who conquer you, corner you and checkmate you.
‘My parents say that I’m obsessed with painting,’ she told me one day. ‘That’s a good thing, because Master says no success is possible without obsession.’
And I did. I coursed through that tournament like a stone going through water – unrestrained and unstoppable. I did not lose a single game.
It wasn’t a you-win-some-you-lose-some situation; it was more like a you-win-now-or-you-will-be-eternally-forgotten situation. Everything I had worked for in the last nine years was at stake over the next thirty days.
‘your patience will break Andrei more than your moves will.’ A pause, then he concluded: ‘Don’t be the eager pawn. Be the graceful emperor.’ The
‘Shouldn’t I take more risks?’ I asked. ‘Wait and watch, Vasu, he’ll make a blunder. He will.’ ‘But he doesn’t show any reaction at all! He has no fear.’ Master laughed. ‘He may not show it, but he does have fear. Everyone does. Fear of loss. And we’ll exploit it at the right time.’
Nandan Nath Upadhyaya had prepared me to turn this tender jolt into a catastrophic earthquake.
‘How does it feel to be the next world champion?’ a journalist asked me. This was a question I had dreamed of being asked for nine long years. All the fun I had missed out on, the effort I put in, all the defeats I faced, struggles I went through – the sole objective of it all was that one day I would be on stage, with many people peeking through their cameras, some holding voice recorders in their hands, some taking notes, when someone would get up, point his pen at me and ask me this question. I cleared my throat. ‘Imagine that you spend years and years of your life digging a tunnel. While
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