Person of day   -  7 JANUARY 2024

KRISHNAN SASIKIRAN

KRISHNAN SASIKIRAN

Krishnan Sasikiran was born into a relatively modest Indian family and made it to the top only thanks to remarkable effort and love for the white-and-black game. He made his first chess steps in Chennai, the native city of Vishy Anand, where he finished school. Krishnan first represented India in the U18s world championship in 1995 and 2 years later he played in the open men’s tournament in the British championship.

Soon, the young chess player was recruited for India’s Olympic team for the Olympiad in Elista in 1998 and he remains a member of the Indian team to this day. In 1999, Sasikiran became a master and a year later, he became a grandmaster. Krishnan Sasikiran is the four-time champion of India and the champion of Asia in 2003.

In 2002, Sasikiran competed in the World Cup and performed on of the most sensational accomplishments of the group stages- he defeated Vishy Anand, conquering his fearsome opponent’s knight in the corner of the board. The match was recognised as one of the tournament’s finest.

In 2006, the young Indian performed a dramatic rise: at the Aeroflot Open festival, he split first place, he won the Asian team championship with the Indians and Krishnan’s rating surpassed the 2700 mark, for the second time in India’s history, after Anand. The government of the Tamil Nadu state, whose capital is Chennai, awarded the grandmaster the prestigious “Arjuna Award” for his achievements in sport and culture.

Sasikiran participated in the Sofia M-Tel Masters super-tournaments, which took place in Bulgaria’s capital in 2007. On his count are victories against Michael Adams, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Gata Kamsky.

In 2008, Sasikiran won a difficult tournament in Pamplona and in 2001 he became the Asian champion for blitz chess. As a member of the Indian team, he won the bronze medal in the 2010 World Championship. In the 2014 Olympiad in Tromso, he won a personal medal at the third board. He played in several World Cups and his best result was entry into the fourth round in 2007.

Krishnan Sasikiran works with Vishy Anand and helped his great compatriot in matches against Magnus Carlsen.

The grandmaster is married and has one daughter.