When Barua played spoilsport...

1986 saw Anand Vishwanathan attain a high profile in the world of Indian chess.

In the previous year, the teenaged chess prodigy had retained the Asian Junior title and, in the process, become an International Master -- the youngest Asian to achieve that distinction. His efforts got him the Arjuna Award.

A year later, he won the national senior title -- becoming, at 15, the youngest national champion India has had in the sport. He also represented India in the Asian Team Championships, where the Indian team won the silver, with Anand himself winning the board prize.

The cognoscenti believed that Anand was prime candidate to take the World Junior Title that year. The tournament was held at Gausdal, and Anand in fact seemed to be coasting till the day he came up against fellow Indian Dibyendu Barua.

The early careers of the two players have paralleled each other. Barua was marked out as a prodigy when he qualified for the national championships at the age of 12. However, he did not really actualise on that promise -- in fact, he attained the Grandmaster norm after Anand, his junior in age.

In terms of talent, the two are alike. The difference lies in commitment -- Anand lives for chess, and is at his happiest when he is reading up on chess theory, or practising games. Barua, on the other hand, has a streak of laziness in his mental make-up which ensures that his preparation is less than perfect -- and thus, he often finds himself caught unprepared when the game slides into complicated openings.

On his day, however, Barua can be lethal -- and it was Anand's tough luck that in 1986, Barua's day happened to coincide with that point in the calendar when Anand was drawn to meet him. Barua played white, in a Sicilian Taimanov so well executed that at no point in the game was Anand given a glimmer of an opening.

Anand resigned on move 52. This in fact proved to be his only defeat at the World Junior Championships that year -- but that one loss was enough to ensure that the youngster didn't get the title he was favoured to annex.

Vishy Anand had to wait another year for his next crack at the Junior title -- and in the process, learn his first lesson in the virtues of patience.

(In the next part of this series, we review the World Junior Championships in Manila, 1987 -- and the crowning of Anand as the best young player in the world.)

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