ANAND - SUCCESS - POTENTIAL

Anand is Viswanathan screamed a local daily's front page headline. The play of words was something commendable while the feat of Anand himself was one which lifted the spirits of even diehard cricket fans. Having been an avid follower of Anand's spectacular rise, I wished I could have been the copy writer for this wonderful piece.

Anand is "Viswa" nathan could have been a clearer one while Anand is Viswa Anand meaning world's joy. The game of 64 squares has fascinated me and I have been witness to some games of the Russian grandmasters at the Malleswaram Club and the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall. The versatile Sudhakar Babu was a senior of mine at school and we took juvenile pride in his accomplishments. I have had occasion to play a game of chess with him and attend many classes at the Malleswaram club. The method of noting the moves was learnt by me at this place.

A couple of tourneys later I realised my potential in chess was way behind. My nephew who was taught the primary moves on the chessboard soon started defeating me in blindfold games where he would play blindfold. I prodded him to take up the game seriously. However, this was never taken seriously. Probably he was the first person for whom I had done a potential assessment. Later in the last couple of decades I have found that the uncanny knack to identify the inherent talent in others around me.Small mistakes are costly while Anand has managed to hold fort with steeled determination. In this context, my musings turn to certain recent events which is in itself a mindsport albeit not restricted to the 64 squares.

In the recent past, I had occasion to speak my mind to one of the youngsters. In the beginning I had warned him to desist being in Government service. The idea was to provide him an unfettered launchpad for a wonderful career. It soon became evident that he would never be receptive to any idea other than a Government post. I made suitable amendments to my proposal and asked him to consider taking civil services. He was quite cold to the idea. In my recent encounter, instead of just speaking my mind in a jovial manner, I chose a straight forward approach. An autobiographical account of the blunders committed in the career game in my own case was placed as a case record. The avenues missed and the miscalculations made were exposed. It must have sounded like a move by move story of a chess game in which the narrator was check mated. The youngster soon became subdued. After a sermon, I looked into his eyes to find it moist. I realised that he was touched. I left the matter at this and hoped he would soon be informing me that he had scaled this peak.

Last week was also one of disappointment. In my personal evaluation I had indicated to another person that the diplomatic trait in him would fetch laurels for the country. It was only the play of words by him but also his strategic skills on the board of 64 squares which impressed me. Soon, I came to face the temper of the individual. The very trait which had fetched him appreciation was missing. Did I make a wrong assessment? Or were the circumstances so overwhelming that the inherent trait was lost? Queries within my mind remained unanswered. I concluded that if the person concerned were to realise the gravity of the mistake and make amends by apologising to the persons concerned then he still would succeed in securing laurels in a diplomatic career. Lest I will have to rethink on my ability to hold wise counsel or the assumption of the role of a coonsellor.

Time would soon reveal the extent of success or failure in this endeavour. Did I emulate Anand or Topalov or Kasparov or was I Bobby Fischer who despite his talents went into history like a flash in the pan remains to be seen.