Fischer and I have many similarities: R Bhuvanesh

He is bespectacled, looks focused and loves science and math. To complete the sequence, a mention of his forehead — adorned with the customary sindoor-chandan — is inevitable.

Ramnath Bhuvanesh, all of 16, lost to A Upadhyaya on Thursday at the National Premier Chess tournament, at the Goregaon Sports Complex, but his unique style of accepting defeat and looking ahead is what catches the eye.

The Chennai resident has a FIDE rating of 2372 and is eligible for a (FM FIDE Master) title. However, that’s not on his agenda. “I want to become an IM (International Master) right away and I’ll do it before I’m 18,” he declares.

He idolises Bobby Fischer and of late, Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen. Why Fischer? “See we have too many similarities,” he says in a typical ‘Tamlish’ accent. No, he’s not smiling when he says this: “Fischer had said that anything other than chess is a diversion. Nothing distracted him.  Anand is talented, great, all that’s true. But somehow I admire Fischer and Carlsen more.”

RESULTS:
GM B Tejas (2474) drew with GM A Gupta (2578), GM A Prasad (2570) bt IM H Sharma (2469), IM S Jha (2497) bt GM S Kidambi (2516), GM Geetha NG (2593) bt IM Roy CS (2427), IM D Sengupta (2488) bt IM M Krishnan (2407), GM N Das (2440) drew with IM Adhiban B (2486), IM Rathnakaran K (2421) lost IM Vidit SG (2459), S Rahul (2368) drew with IM Sethuraman S P (2447), GM K Abhijit (2522) lost to SS Dhopade (2406), GM D Chakkravarthy J (2518) lost to IM A Kore (2394)