Kunte arrives in grand style

KOZHIKODE, FEBRUARY 14: Abhijit Kunte is not a flashy character in chess: He did not hit the headlines when he was a child, like an Anand ...

KOZHIKODE, FEBRUARY 14: Abhijit Kunte is not a flashy character in chess: He did not hit the headlines when he was a child, like an Anand or a Barua and he was not talked of as a potential Grandmaster even when he pocketed his first Grandmaster norm from the Asian Junior Chess Championship three years ago. But soon he was to become the pioneer of new breed of Indian chess players, who were not overawed by the reputation of the Europeans’ ratings or their titles.

The major break in Kunte’s Grandmaster sojourn came in 1998 when he won the Indian Independence Grandmaster Tournament at Kozhikode. It was a double triumph for him the title coming along with a precious Grandmaster norm. His second norm was an invaluable one, if one counts it from the point of view of the title specification as the Kozhikode tourney was an all-play-all event.

The round-robin norm is rare as there are very few all-play-all events now. Year after year, players have to complete 30 games instead of 24 (the latest case isVijayalakshmi) because of the non-availability of the round-robin events. Three or two norms with 24 games constitute an IM or GM title if one of the norms is from round robin event; if all norms are from Swiss events, a player has to complete 30 games.

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Kunte had arrived on the Indian stage at Kozhikode. He started playing solidly. But since 1997, he has not been consistent in his performance, always showing promise and then losing to unknown players.

The one factor that separated Kunte from the rest of the Indian aspirants was his determination and mental strength. It was common that Kunte would cling to small advantages, wait patiently for the opponents to make mistakes and then win endings. It was a welcome change from the Indian routine of getting promising positions and squandering them.

When Kunte played in his first National A at Kasargod in 1996, he was easy meat for the experienced campaigners. A place in the bottom did not deter him from going for the title next year at Bhilai.

Methodically,he played it safe with black and hit with white to mark his first comeback. That first title made him a man. “I was going for blood in all games in my maiden National A, but that was not required,” he had confessed in Bhilai.

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Abhijit Kunte hails from Pune, where badminton is a popular game. A relation of Ravi Kunte, the former National player, Abhijit has his fondness for badminton too as was evident in his regular visits to the indoor stadium at Bhilai during his National A title winning run in 1997. No wonder, he could easily defeat his opponents there.

World chess federation vice-president PT Ummer Koya said he hoped better results from Kunte. “He is almost an European in his chess attitude. Just matter-of-fact and no flashiness. For him chess is business,” was his fitting tribute to the new Grandmaster. Koya also indicated that with the arrival of a fourth GM, Indian National would now become a Grandmaster event with chances for many aspirants.

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