My maiden GM norm (Part 2)

My maiden GM norm (Part 2)

In case, you missed it. You can read Part 1 of the article here.

This was my first win against Saptarshi Roy and the win came at a kairos moment! Out of the ten games in Parsvnath, I had already played against six of my opponents previously. This event gave me an opportunity to make my scores better and I did that to some extent.

Facebook Q&A

Srikar Yerrabati: What turned out to be so interesting for you to make the norm? What were your main perspectives on and off the board? 

The interesting part of the norm was that I got some positions that I had seen a few months back. I got to use some ideas that were a part of my opening preparation! I shed all the labels and perspectives during the event, but I held on to one motto :Life Goes On.

Ritu Modal: What were your fears and strengths? What kept you going?

The tournament offered me the opportunity to test my skills and execute my ideas against those players who had beaten me previously. The win against Saptarshi Roy and Shyam Nikhil were very important in aspects of my personal chess psychology. So, good results against these players kept me motivated.

Varun Raste: How did you manage to defeat Grandmasters or players who were rated 200 elo points higher than you? 

I knew that I was capable of playing good moves. I knew that I could beat them if I increased the consistency of good moves and it worked. My past helped me through the present.

Sudarshan Bhat: How did you manage to play consistently? 

Few months back, I interviewed Saravana Krishna and asked him the same question. 

He said that he approached every game as a new game and focused on giving his best in the present moment. I employed this approach myself and it helped me to play on merit. I divided the whole event into small phases and probably—this led to consistency.

Hemanthraam Murugan: After the good start in the event, what was your aim? 

I kept myself busy with food, music, books, preparation, walking, metro, a few cups of tea. I didn’t give my mind the time and space to think about all that.

Pravin Mohite: Why did your performance slip in the last two rounds after getting the norm? 

Every failure is a feedback and data for future progress. I believe that there were several factors and one of them was fatigue. I will share the other factors once I overcome them.

Sameer Gore: What is the difference between a good player and a very good player? Is China inching ahead of India as next superpower in chess? [Ed.: China has always been ahead of India in chess, or any other sport except Cricket.]

A very good player is probably more aware of certainties when compared to a good player. China? Only time will tell.

Sanjay Sindhia: What was your mindset & goal entering into the event? How did you prepare for the event? How different was it from the tournament you played previously? 

As I expressed in the interview to CBI, I was looking for norms. At the back of my mind, I knew I had to make norms. The major changes had impacted my last few events positively, I started taking objective decisions. I have mentioned about how I prepared for the last few months prior to this event in the previous article.

I did play some good games in Mumbai; Mumbai was more like a practice ground for the event in Delhi. It helped me to filter certain tendencies and gave me an important lesson: Don’t sweat over small stuff. It’s all small stuff.

Andrew Ooi Boon Seng: Who was the person most influential for you in obtaining the norm? How did you train? What were the other activities you did outside of chess? How long did it take for the norm, starting from the time you first made it your target? 

K.Visweswaran helped me in making a lot of decisions in the preparation during the tournament. I’m grateful to him for his support.

I have a few playlists attuned to certain situations and I listen to them accordingly. For example, Hans Zimmer’s Dark Knight during my lows. ‘No time for caution’ from Interstellar, again by Hans Zimmer, before some games. Music helps me prepare well for the game.

I wrote in my journal about the possibility of a norm in 2011. It took six years for my first norm and it is a GM norm.

Shripad KV: Did you target the norm for this event? 

I didn’t target a GM norm, but yes. I was hoping to make a norm here.

Anees Ahmed: What do you like more, writing or chess? 

I like both and they help me well. For example, I have used chess concepts in writing and vice versa. They complement well.

Shubham Kaushik: You were trapped in the 2100-2200 barrier. What changes did you bring in your chess training as well as in your daily life to break that barrier?  

I have answered this in the previous article.

IM Nisha Mohota: You have been working hard for quite some time. What was it that you did differently here which you hadn't done earlier which brought the best in you? Also would like to know about your pressure level and excitement as you came closer to the norm. How you managed to keep calm and play when things got exciting - during a game and during the tournament? 

I stared being more objective, that helped in making the best of the situations.
I was enjoying my games, keeping myself busy with productive activities and the pressure felt like an uninvited guest. Jokes aside, I just kept myself glued to what is necessary and did accordingly.

My opponents inspired me to keep calm and I’m glad I did that during Delhi Open. I was also backed by luck in desperate situations and I held on to what I knew. For example, saving games against Swayams and Neverov helped the norm. I kept repeating certain affirmations and quotes in my mind to keep going forward. You can find more of that here.

Ankit: What was your mental approach before the tournament?

Keep steady under trying circumstances- Mandela! I used this approach.

Chandrashekhar Navalgund: What was your attitude before and after? (Niranjan's father)

I carried a question mark before the event and returned with a comma after the event.

Arna Sarkar: How do you relate chess with life? 

A lot has been said about chess and life. I believe they are interconnected and I continue picking lessons from life and chess as and when they are imparted to me.

Sivavamsi Krishna: You mentioned in the interview that Horvath rarely loses. What were your feelings before the game? Did you feel you could win? What were you feeling when you got a winning position? 

I was hoping to play a sound game and I did that. I wasn’t thinking about the results. I was more concerned about the process and didn’t let my thoughts float around results. It is difficult, but I found myself doing that on the day it mattered.

There are certain acts I associate with the accomplishments and sharing this video with my friends is one of them. A few months prior to the event, I had visualised the moment of sharing this scene on social media after a rise and some of my close friends knew what I meant.

Thank you, CBI, for giving me this opportunity to share parts of my GM norm story. I take this opportunity to thank my family, friends and well-wishers for contributing to my growth in their own ways. Heartfelt Gratitude to Polyhydron Foundation, Belagavi for sponsoring the entry fees of the event.

 About the author:

Niranjan Navalgund is rated 2375 and has a GM norm. He is also the author of The lively library & an unlikely romance. Chess and writing are his passions and he manages both of them well as can be quite clearly seen from his GM norm performance and the book launch by Readomania!