Srinath crosses a hurdle

Forget the youngest rated player tag because the world chess federation (FIDE) has no place for acknowledging this feat. After Srinath, another lad from Chennai Harikrishnan, a seven-year-old from Ambathur, claimed he was the youngest rated in India in 2009. But these are all irrelevant records in chess. 

What is significant about Srinath’s chess journey is that he promised so much when he became the under-12 World champion and then at 14, he turned an International Master. Since then, he has waited and waited, making Grandmaster norms here and there but the all-important mark of 2500-rating points eluded him somehow. He made five GM norms as against the three specified for the GM title by the world body. Even in Sharjah where he was on five points from seven rounds, the norm was on the cards but significantly he crossed the 2500-mark in live rating. And that would help him pass the GM grade. 

“He has had a bumpy career from his childhood. Many ups and downs,” says coach and Grandmaster RB Ramesh. “I worked with him when he was young, till he became an International Master, I think at the age of 14 or so. With better work ethic, he could have become a GM much sooner, he had the talent,” added Ramesh.

Srinath has an array of Indian chess players, many of them from Chennai, in the Sharjah tournament. Baskaran Adhiban, SP Sethuraman, Dronavalli Harika, Vishnu Prasanna, Stany SA and RR Laxman are already playing there. He got a walkover from Russian GM and third seed Maxim Matlakov in the first round. The Russian was subsequently removed from the pairings. Srinath’s best result came in the fifth round when he defeated Anton Guijarrao David (2676) of Spain.