By Sakyasen Mittra
Bhubaneswar, Feb 9: After her ‘best-ever show’ in the international chess arena where she bagged her first GM norm, Padmini Rout’s return to the city Saturday from Gibraltar has more or less gone unnoticed. But the smart looking girl is not worried about that. Instead, she is now concerned about how to manage the finances to get the two other norms that will help her attain the title of Grandmaster.
“Look, I have not set myself any time frame for the two other norms. I want to get it as quickly as possible,” stated Padmini sitting at her Niladri Vihar residence here Monday. “But then to get the norms I have to be coached by Grandmasters and that is pretty expensive. I am now worried about that,” she added. Incidentally top coaches demand anything between $100-$200 (Rs 5,000-10,000 approx) per session.
Padmini is really elated at the way she played at the Gibraltar chess tournament where she defeated three higher-ranked GMs and finished best among Indian women. “This event was the toughest one that I played till date,” Padmini pointed out. “Most of the players were ranked higher than me. So to beat three Grandmasters was really special for me. It was also a learning experience.”
She lost two matches in the tournament – both to Indians – S Sethuraman and P Harikrishna. Talking about the tie against Harikrishna, the Orissa lass stated that she learnt a lot from the loss to Harikrishna. “This was the first time I played against a player who had an Elo rating of approximately 2,700 points,” informed Padmini. “When you compete against a player of such high rating it is tough. You can make a mistake against lower rated players and get away with it. But the higher ranked players never give you a second chance.”
Padmini is aware of the fact that she has to improve on the ‘opening’ of her game and she is really determined to do that. “The opening of any chess tie is very important and I am continuously striving to improve on that aspect of the game,” she stated.
As of now she will rest for a couple of days before heading to Goa to play in the National Team Chess Championships February 20-26. And her main target this year is to play as many top tournaments as she can – funds permitting.
Is anyone listening?
