Surya rises in East as another potential GM

However, Ganguly admits that he normally avoids peeking into his chess future. “I believe in my father’s predictions. All of them have come true. But I prefer to avoid learning about it as it affects my chess at times. But my mother is always eager to know about my results every time I play a tournament,” Ganguly had told this writer sometime back.

From the age of eight, Ganguly had shown signs of promise. A string of successes brought him the reputation of a player who wins titles in higher age groups.

Within two years of mastering skills, Ganguly commenced his hunt for titles with a double treat — winning the boys’ under-10 and under-12 Nationals. The eight-year-old kept up his meteoric rise into the international sphere and finished runners-up in the 1991 World Under-10 Championship in Poland.

The following year he retained the National under-10 title and finished sixth in World Under-10 Championship in Germany. In 1993, Ganguly reasserted his credentials by finishing third in the World Under-C0 championship in the Czech Republic.

In the next two years, Ganguly has hogged the limelight and has emerged as a potential Grand Master. Among his notable successes were the National under-12 title in 1995 (Mumbai) and the silver medal at the Brazil World Under-12 Championship in the same year. He even entered the record books of as the youngest player in the world to beat a Grand Master when he outwitted GM G Serper (Uzbekistan) at the Goodricke tournament in 1995.

In 1996 and 1997, Ganguly experienced a drought of worthwhile titles as his career graph took a plunge. In 1998, the Calcutta-based Goodricke National Chess Academy prodigy took a break from active chess to concentrate on his school leaving examinations.

But Ganguly was back where he had left. The clock came a full circle in Mumbai — the very place where he had won his last major tournament (the National under-12 title) and also served notice of his comeback by winning the National `B’ title.

He continued the good work by claiming his second IM norm at the Asian Chess Championship at Udaipur last month. And to prove it was no fluke, Ganguly on Tuesday stamped his authority on the Indian scene by completing the third and final norm to become country’s 25th IM.

Prakash Ganguly’s announcements have always been spot on. And for those who acknowledge clairvoyance, the possibilities are fascinating.

Chess buffs may well ask: Do we see a fifth or sixth or seventh Indian GM in Ganguly? Only time and Prakash Ganguly can tell!