Vijayawada :
City-based chess Grandmaster Musunuri Lalith Babu (2593) needs just seven points to enter the coveted 2,600-mark which will enable him to join the illustrious club consisting of players like Adhiban, Sasikiran, Sethuraman and Abhijit Gupta.
To garner the elusive points, he will be travelling to Moscow to take part in the Aeroflot Grandmasters tournament from February 20 to March 3 which will feature the best of brains in the world of sixty-four squares.
After the end of the classic round on March 2, he will take part in the Aeroflot blitz tournament which will contain 18 rounds in which the world top 10 players will feature.
“This is one of the world’s strongest tournaments where a good number of Russian Grand Masters will take part along with top-notch players from Israel, China, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan,” said Lalith who is working as the Grade 1 Officer in the Indian Oil Corporation in Vijayawada.
Last year, the Moscow sojourn was a forgettable one as he garnered just five points out of nine and finished 42nd in the final rating list. “The tourney assumes importance as the winner will qualify for the prestigious Dortmund Super Grandmaster tournament,” he added.
He said he was playing in ‘Group A’ where players above 2,550 would clash. “I am placed 78th among the 80 entries in the fray.”
He said he was not taking any online coaching this year as he could not afford the Bulgarian coach Vladimir Chuchelov who proved costly. “I am practising all alone.”
He said the tournament was not one to try experimental moves especially with the openings as the rivals were proficient with all sorts of openings. “I do not want to try new things and I wish to play solid chess,” said Lalith who finished fifth in the Delhi International Open that concluded recently.
He further said, “I wish to avoid complicating positions. I am also working out how not to fall in to the opening trap of the rival.”
Lalith Babu is spending the best part of his time improving his fitness as he needed seven hours of playing daily. “One needs to have lot of energy as it is gruelling event,” he added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> State> Andhra Pradesh / by J.R. Sridharan / February 18th, 2017