It would normally take no time to assertively conclude that Viswanathan Anand is indeed the greatest chess player India has produced. But the truth is that there is indeed a grain of doubt, for, lost in the sands of time is a little-known and hardly-written about player, who was the first to put India on the world chess map.Mir Sultan Khan, born in 1905, held his own against some of the greatest this game has known; the likes of Saviely Tartakower, Jose Raul Capablanca and Salomon Flohr. He was accepted as among the world's best ten in that significant era in world chess.But those were the days when there were no recognised or regular world championships, no Elo ratings and Sultan Khan was but a servant in the employment of a master, Sir Umar Hayat Khan. The master never realised the potential of his employee, because Sultan felt it was not correct to beat his employer in a game. But Sultan, within two of years his learning the game, won the All India championships and then accompanied his master toBritain in 1929.Reckoned as one of the greatest natural players of all time, Sultan Khan not only won the British Open three times in 1929, 1932 and 1933. With India still not participating in the Chess Olympiad Sultan Khan represented Britain in the Chess Olympiad three times. His strength was the complex middle game and in the end-game he had few peers. His weakness was however the opening. But before Sultan could achieve greater peaks, his master returned to India, and after some time stopped playing chess. He died in anonymity in Sargodha in Pakistan in 1966.THOUGH an all India tournament existed in the 1920s through to the early 1950s, the first Indian national champion came into being only in 1955. And those days among the well known players was RB Sapre, who shared the first title with D Venkaiah in Eluru. The following year India went to the chess Olympiad for the first time.But it was not till the arrival of Manuel Aaron, a young talented player from Madras that India began to be noticedagain. Aaron, who first won the Nationals in 1959, became India's first International Master and one of his celebrated victories in 1962 Olympiad came over former world champion Max Euwe. The same year he became the first Indian to figure in the Candidates tournament and lost to Bobby Fischer.For almost two decades Aaron was the lone standard bearer of India's chess prowess. Though V Ravikumar won the Asian juniors and became the second IM in 1978, it was not until the emergence of Dibyendu Barua, whose victory over the then World No. 2 Viktor Korchnoi drew parallels with Sultan Khan, that Indian chess took another significant step.In 1982, Barua and Pravin Thipsay were the front-runners in Indian chess, though the likes of Raja Ravisekhar, TN Parameswaran and A B Vaidya also became IMs. But then emerged the prodigy, a term hitherto reserved for Barua. Anand, who in his pre-teens went to the Philippines with his father, a senior Railway official learnt the basics from his mother, Sushila and then honedhis skills following chess on a TV programme.By the time the family returned to India around 1983, Anand was progressing very fast. He became the sub-junior national champion and then the junior champion. In 1985, when just past 15, he became the Asian junior champion and India's youngest IM. Titles and accolades followed quickly. The following year it was time for the senior title and in 1987, he became the first Asian to win the World junior title in Baguio City and the same year added two more norms. In December, just a week after his 18th birthday he became India's first Grandmaster.The progress from here was even faster. As his rating spiralled, in 1990 he qualified for the Inter-zonals and in 1991 he won the world's strongest Grandmaster tournament ever at Reggio Emilio, but then lost to Anatoly Karpov in the quarter-finals of the FIDE World championships. Meanwhile Dibyendu Barua, who had fallen back, became India's second GM in January 1991.Anand rose into the top five of the world and by1995 he was No. 2 to Garry Kasparov. He went through the Candidates series of the Professional Chess Association to reach the final for title-clash with Kasparov. In that much-awaited clash in New York, Anand held his own for the first eight games and then won the ninth to go ahead. That ignited hopes of an Indian world champion, but then Anand fell short as Kasparov rallied and won in a crushing manner.One more world title attempt would come in 1997, when Anand was up against Karpov in the official FIDE world championships. But the exhausting cycle leading to the title match took its toll. Karpov won the match on sudden death tie-breaker, but Anand was the moral winner.HOWEVER, Anand had done enough to spark of a Indian chess revolution. Age group world champions became more frequent. Pentyala Harikrishna, Koneru Humpy and Aarthie Ramaswamy all won world titles Humpy actually two in two years. There were Asian champions in even greater numbers. Abhijit Kunte and Krishnan Sasikiran, now on the verge ofjoining Anand, Barua and Thipsay as GMs, are the future faces.No evaluation would be complete without a mention of the All India Chess Federation, which even with all its faults needs to be complimented for organising more than 20 national championships in various age-groups and various team events. The net result is that chess is one of the most widely followed and reported games in India. The Chess Oscar for Anand in 1998 was another big honour for India, which now expects him to finally become the world champion.Memories of another DayAN INDIAN CHAMPION IN BRITAIN: In 1929, Sultan Khan, probably the first world class chess player India had, wins the British Open Championships. Sultan, who would win the two more times in 1930 and 1931, was a lowly worker in the employment of Sir Umar Hayat Khan. Within two years of learning of the game he won the All India title in 1928 and the following year went with his master to England. He also represented Britain in three ChessOlympiads.FIRST INTERNATIONAL MASTER: In 1961, Manuel Aaron becomes India's first International Master. After beating Mongolian Suren Momo, 3-1 in a best of four games match, he met Cecil Burdy who was 3-0. It brought Aaron up against Bobby Fischer, to whom he lost. But he got his final IM norm and with it the title. For the 17 years was India's only International Master.SECOND IM AFTER A LONG WAIT: In 1978, Vaidyanathan Ravikumar becomes India's second IM winning the Asian junior crown in Teheran.WOMEN MAKE A MARK: In the same year as India produced its second IM, Jayshree Khadilkar became India's first woman International Master. Three years later in 1981, Rohini wins the Asian women's title.INDIAN CHESS COMES INTO ITS OWN: In 1982, Dibyendu Barua and Pravin Thipsay become International Masters at the same Bhilwara International tournament in New Delhi. The same year Barua shocks Viktor Korchnoi, the then World No. 2 in Lloyd Bank tournament in LondonANANDARRIVES: In 1985, the prodigy, Viswanathan Anand who has been winning age-group National titles signals his arrival becoming India's youngest International Master. The following year he becomes India's youngest National 'A' champion.THE FIRST WORLD CHAMPION AND A GRANDMASTER, AT LAST: From now on, all landmarks will be linked with one name. Vishy Anand wins the world junior title in Baguio City and the same year he completes all his norms to become India's first Grandmaster on December 28, 1987. He was then 18 years and eight days old.ANAND TAKES A SHOT AT WORLD TITLE: In 1995, Anand qualifies for the Professional Chess Association world championships final but loses to Kasparov in New York. At one stage he even led Kasparov, but only briefly for one game.ONE MORE WORLD CHAMPION: In 1996, Pentyala Harikrishna wins the World Under-10 title in Menorca, Spain. It is the first time any Indian has won a world title since Anand's triumph at the World juniors in 1987.ANANDGETS ANOTHER SHY AT WORLD TITLE: Anand goes through a hectic qualifying cycle in a month's period in Groningen. to qualify for the final. But then loses to a fresh Anatoly Karpov in sudden-death tie-breaker after being tied after eight games and initial tie-breaker.GIRLS CATCH UP: In 1998, Koneru Humpy, the small built Andhra girl stuns everybody by winning a second age-group world title. After her fine triumph in the World Under-10 girl's section in Cannes in 1997, she added a second title in the World Under-12 girl's section in Oropesa del Mar in Spain in October-November 1998. In 1999 she won the Asian title in sub-juniors section in Ahmedabad.CHESS OSCAR: In 1998 Anand bags the Chess Oscar for the second time running.GIRLS GO AHEAD: In 1999, Another age-group world title for India and this one comes in the Under-18 girls section, where Aarthie Ramaswamy, who idolises Viswanathan Anand wins a world title. India now has five world title, three from women and two from men.
