For GM M.R. Lalith Babu, the long wait finally ended when he clinched the rapid title in the Czech Open Pardubice chess tournament with eight points from nine rounds.
“This win is a huge morale booster for me. I was quite confident in the Classical event too but finished second with seven points from nine rounds,” the 30-year-old Lalith informed The Hindu.
“Frankly, I performed well in the initial rounds of the tournament, scoring 6.5 from seven rounds which saw me emerge as the sole leader and needing only one from the last two rounds to win the title. But my calculations went wrong, and I lost my eighth round game, thereby losing a crucial penultimate round which proved to be a big difference eventually,” Lalith explained.
“Yes, this result serves as a powerful motivator for the future. I’ve learned valuable lessons from every move, every decision and every defeat. Will come back stronger,” said Lalith who was a member of the bronze medal-winning team in the 2014 Chess Olympiad.
Lalith informed that the future targets include crossing the ELO2600 barrier by taking part in many events in the coming months.
“Definitely, this win coming after a year is certainly impressive. It would have been great if I had won the championship which I missed by a half-a-point difference,” the Vijayawada-based chess player said.
“But this achievement will definitely motivate me to perform well in future and dream big for sure,” the Indian Oil officer said.
“Well, honestly, my wife Prathyusha has been a great support to me and she keeps reminding me of my career goals during tough times. This is a huge plus for me,” he added.
“Even though she is not aware of chess, she is conscious of what kind of environment I need at home to stay away from distractions during training sessions. And of course, my mom is always there like she has been over the years,” Lalith said.
“I hope to do well in the coming European circuit for sure,” he signed off.
