Kolkata: In-form Grand Master Harika Dronavalli is aiming to better her game rather than rankings in the upcoming Women’s World Team Chess Championships starting June 16 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The 26-year old Guntur-born girl has slipped five rungs to No. 10 in FIDE world rankings from her career-best listing of No. 5 that she achieved last year.
“It’s going on well. We have been working really hard on our game,” Harika told this agency in a telephonic interview on the upcoming Women’s World Team Championships where, besides her, IMs Padmini Rout, Eesha Karavade, Vijaylakshmi Subbaraman and Tania Sachdev will comprise the Indian team.
“I am working hard on my game and that to me is more important than rankings. My aim is to be World No. 1 and for that to happen I need to improve every aspect of my game,” she added.
The GM’s climb to the World No. 5 spot came after a commanding performance at the Isle of Man international chess tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland. At the 2017 Women’s World Chess Championships, Harika lost to China’s Tan Zhongyi, but her overall show of grit and determination impressed the connoisseurs of the game. Harika though is not willing to rest on her laurels and is hungry for more.
“No, I would not say 2015 or 2016 was my best year. But yes in terms of results, 2016 was one of the best. I broke into the top five in rankings and won the Grand Prix and a bronze in the World Championships the year before,” Harika informed.
“I want to move on and take my game one notch higher. That’s the aim at the moment,” she added when asked if she was going through a purple patch.
In compatriot and World No. 4 Koneru Humpy, Harika has a strong rival at home. “It is very important to have such rivalries,” asserted Harika, who admires celebrated Russian chess player Vladimir Kramnik, Hungarian Judit Polgar and India’s own Viswanathan Anand.
“When you have top players around, you tend to work harder. You push yourself to the limits and she (Humpy) is a top player. I don’t see it as a rivalry. It is good for the audiences in any sport to have two players of the same country jostling with each other. For us, it’s great as it presents you with an opportunity to improve,” added the lithe-looking player.
IANS