whose fast and attacking game

On an all-out attack at the start, taking risks, and exploiting the opponent's reticence towards chaos. The main hall was so packed that it resembled the stands of a football game more than the quiet sanctum of a chess game. The bustle seemed endless, as shoulders crashed onto the shoulder, feet stamped feet, as Viswanathan Anand made the first ceremonious move in the tournament. The crowd slowly filtered out of the room, as the match time began, 15 minutes later than the scheduled start of the play. The rat was restless, staring into the precisely arranged pieces, keenly waiting to make her first move. Across the table sat her adversary, Sabina Abrorova, the 16-year-old from Tajikistan, a player that trails by around 900 points. Maybe the gulf in ratings pushed the Indians to launch an all-out attack soon after the early sixth move was a knight B3, apparently a tempo-destroying move that could potentially enable her opponent to make inroads into her territory, if she was willing to embrace risks. The 16-year-old, instead, blinked. She went for the defensive e6 putting her into really strong attacking positions tenaciously, made a string of defensive moves to tightly guard her fort, putting paid to early attempts to attack But did not budge, rather attacked even more aggressively, even nearly sacrificing her advantageous positions at times, embracing high-risk tactics that could have been self-destructive had her opponent been sharper. —an all-or-nothing approach at the start, quick moves that though should not be misconstrued as an ineptness to play the defensive game. She could maintain tight defensive positions, but that’s her acquired nature. Like she was slightly defensive in the meandering middle game, before reacquainting with her aggressive streak, later on, to wrap up the match in emphatic fashion to herald a day when all of her teammates, won without any scare. Overall, the day with all six teams trouncing their opponents. On the board, she hardly looks tense or bothered and does not keep staring at her opponent. Often, she takes a stroll after making a move, perhaps plotting her next line of attack that has honed the attacking game of her more feted. He had once told this paper of her influence: “She had a very fast and attacking style. The way she plays could make you nervous. I used to get so nervous that I used to lose all the games. Only when I grew a bit older that I learned to take more time before making my moves.” the younger brother began to jot down his name in the win-loss log book they jot the results of their in-house matches. But Praggnanandhaa still rates her as a better player. “She is still my inspiration, from whom I keep learning a lot every day and a better player than me when she is in her elements,” He has, in a sense, outgrown her, completing her norms, two months after he turned 13. At that time, was still chasing her IM norms (after she had completed the Women’s GM three years ago), which she completed last year. He was taking on the cream of the chess world, accumulating points and wisdom, beating some of them, and earning high praise when still doing the hard yards of playing week after week of state-ranking tournaments, content to be the unassuming, withdrawn sister of a vaunted globe-hopping prodigy.“The competition between them was always healthy, they would help each other out, always together, and seldom fight. They are very close to each other,” says father Ramesh couple of years, the 21-year-old has emerged from the shadows of her brother, narrowing the gap (2642-2422), and has wrapped up two GM norms herself. Beating women’s blitz world champion Bibisara Assaubayeva in the Women’s Speed Chess Championship in June further attested to her swelling quality. She then beat senior in the same tournament to further assert her caliber, carefully calibrated by coach RB Ramesh, who has always praised her work ethic. Her game, like how the opening round of the Olympiad began, could look chaotic at times. But chaotically brilliant.