The past few days have been so much fun. It’s been amazing to see my sister receive all the love and attention she truly deserves for winning the Women’s Candidates. I’m so glad to be part of the celebrations – tagging along for her felicitations, watching her live this moment and catching up on sleep in between. I’ve seen the hard work she has put in over the years. Even right before the Candidates, she was training incredibly hard, and I was pleading with her to take a break. Ever since she started playing chess, it has been the main focus of her life – and it has paid off. There’s still one big thing left (the Women’s World Championship match against Ju Wenjun). Honestly, I’m more excited for akka’s match than she is.
Looking back at the Candidates, my tournament was pretty much over by Round 10 when I lost to (Javokhir) Sindarov. I wouldn’t say I had a real chance of winning the whole thing even before that. Still, I was focused on finishing my tournament well. I was also chatting with my sister between rounds, though I think she was already in her zone, so I didn’t want to disturb her. We had a slightly longer discussion before the final round about focusing on her game and managing her time better – little things that really matter. Of course, she already knows all this, but sometimes it helps to be reminded. I’m not sure I was of any help (haha). I think she played a brilliant game in the last round. She was always in control, and I was just really happy watching it.
I was most impressed by her game against (Aleksandra) Goryachkina which she won with Black. The moves were quite passive, but they were necessary and were also the best moves. It’s not her style to play these passive moves like retreating her bishop – 10. Be8. I think these moves were quite impressive to see. I was watching during the game and I was hooked.
The way she trapped White’s rook – 30. Bc4 and 30. Bc6– the tactics around it were quite nice. It was my personal favourite among her games. To go against her style of play in such an important tournament showed that she was calm under pressure. It also showed that she was in great shape.
I took up chess because, as a kid, I used to watch my sister practice at home. That’s how I got interested in the game, and my parents then bought me a chessboard. In a way, my journey in chess started because of akka and we’ve been helping each other along the way since then. When I became the world’s youngest International Master at 10 and Grandmaster at 12, a lot of attention followed. Suddenly, all the focus was on me even though there was another talented player in the family. I’m sure it had an impact on her. I was quite young then and didn’t really understand what she was going through. I didn’t even understand what was going on with me, to begin with. But now, when I look back I can understand how she may have felt. Back then, we both were really young so we weren’t sure how to process these things.
Over time, as siblings, we’ve grown really close. She’s the first person I share things with, and the same goes for her as well. Of course, chess is probably what we talk about the most but we also have other things in common, including friends. There are a lot of little things that come up during games and training and it’s nice to have someone at home to chat with about them.
I’m already thinking about akka’s World Championship match. Ju Wenjun is a really strong player and the match is not going to be easy. But she has a lot of time, 6-7 months at least, to train and I’m sure she’ll grow as a player. I am kind of confident. If she can play at her best, she definitely has a good chance. I’m looking forward to watching her train and to being around during her match. The World Championship is something all chess players dream about. I remember watching the 2013 World Championship between Magnus Carlsen and (Viswanathan) Anand sir when it happened in Chennai. I followed the 2012 match in bits and pieces. Now, I’ll get to be a part of a match in a small way through my sister.
(As told to Susan Ninan)
