It was one of my biggest goals: Grandmaster clincher Dronavalli Harika

Dronavalli Harika, the second Indian woman after Koneru Humpy to clinch the Grandmaster title, tells DNA she is now aiming do well in World Championships. Excerpts:

The long wait is over finally. What does the GM title mean to you?
It is one of the biggest goals I wanted to reach. I was waiting for this for a long time. This will be one of the most memorable moments of my life.

Tell me more about your tournament in Hangzhou. How tough was the task especially when you had five draws in the first five rounds?
Hangzhou was really strong women’s event with 10 players, who are ranked in the top 15 in the world. It looked very difficult to reach 5.5 when I drew the first five rounds, but I had faith that I can do it and tried till the end. 

You garnered three points from the last four rounds. What was the motivation behind that? Was there any player who helped you to prepare?
Nothing like special preparation, I did the same what I did in the first half. The motivation was that second half was the last chance to win a norm in that tournament.

You were going through an emotional phase just before the tournament. How did you manage to concentrate on the preparations?
Are you talking about my grandfather passing away or the bad tournament I had before it? In either case, it made me become more alert and I wanted to give my best in Hangzhou.

Before the tournament, you had practice sessions with Kazakhstan GM Evgeny Vladimirov. How beneficial was it?
I worked for a week with Vladimirov sir. We worked on some endings and middle games. It is always very helpful to improve knowledge by working with such an experienced coach. But I should not compare results with that.

You had said earlier that the GM title and World Championships are on your radar. One hurdle is crossed, when are you going for the second one?
From now on, I will try to improve my game and make myself stronger for women’s World Championships. I have to concentrate more and try to achieve a lot.

Ahead of Corus, world championship and Olympiad, are you planning to opt for a foreign coach?
I am happy with my personal coach NVS Rama Raju’s guidance and in between I may take some short sessions with a foreign coach, as my sponsors Lakshya are planning for this training.