GM P. Harikrishna, the second highest-ranked player after Viswanathan Anand from India, says that he is happy with the way he has performed this year and with his confidence up is gunning for bigger glory in the days to come.
In an exclusive interview with The Hindu at his residence in Hyderabad during his brief holiday before flying for the European circuit, the 29-year-old Harikrishna says he has done really well in some of the toughest events despite the disappointing World Cup second round exit in knock-out format in September this year.
“Somehow, I have been doing well in the Open category events which in a way gives you a chance to come back strongly unlike the knock-out format of World Cup,” Harikrishna pointed out.
The former World junior champion says his next big target is to do well in the Grand Prix series to pick up valuable Elo points to be in contention for a slot in the Candidates Matches which are held to decide the challenger of the reigning World champion.
Harikrishna, now with an Elo 2743 the next best after Anand (Elo 2803) from India, insists that it is never going to be easy in the circuit for anyone trying to stay in the big league.
“The dynamics have changed a lot thanks to the presence of immensely talented players in the top 10. You have to keep improving all the time given the technological advances,” he said.
For someone who plays mostly in the European circuit playing for the Spanish, French and the German clubs, Harikrishna is aware that he needs to be more focussed in the days ahead.
“Fortunately, I don’t see anything wrong with my game. I am ready for the bigger challenges ahead which also mean changing your strategies and preparations too,” he said.
The senior officer in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. confesses that he was definitely in a phase between 2006-10 when things went as he would have loved. “I was hovering around Elo 2660-80 then. I think the pressure of expectations was a bit high then,” he said.
The World No. 19 reminds that he picked up his game really well in the last couple of years after some serious changes in the game and the preparations too.
Now, Harikrishna is preparing for the Qatar Open which also has reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and the gifted Anish Giri in the fray.
“It would be interesting to remind you that Giri and myself are teammates for the German Club Solingen,” he said.
“What I badly need now is to play in big events even while picking Elo points,” he said.
“I am thoroughly enjoying the current phase. Yes, this is the most critical phase of my career but fortunately the pressure of expectations will not be there,” he said.
With the Gibraltar Open in January in which Anand is also expected to play, Hari is engaging in interaction with some of the best GMs (whom he doesn’t want to reveal for obvious reasons).
“I just hope next year will be much better,” he said before signing off.
