Five years ago,Vishwanathan Anand was unanimously voted winner of the Chess Oscar the games most prestigious award for the third time in his career. When Anand collected his prize in the summer of 2004,Manpreet Singh was just a few days old. All of five years and six months old at the CBSE North Zone-I Chess Championship at the KR Mangalam World School in Vikaspuri on Saturday,Manpreet,the youngest participant in the tournament by a distance,aspires to repeat Anands Oscar achievement when he grows up. Manpreets coach,Pradeep Solanki runs an academy at Janakpuri and firmly believes that the boy has the talent to achieve his ambitions. If things go well,Manpreet will be the youngest Grandmaster, Solanki told Sportline. While Anand began to play chess at the age of six,Manpreet started three years earlier and at five and a half,he is already competing and successfully outwitting much older opponents. My father taught me how to play chess at the age of three. I liked the game instantly, Manpreet said. Now I can defeat him in no time,with or without the queen during the end game, he boasts. Manpreet has a very simple reason for playing the indoor sport religiously. Why run around in the heat when you can play chess and have as much fun, Manpreet asked,adding,I used to play tennis and cricket,but as I started playing more chess,I gave those up. Representing the host school in the under-14 category of the tournament which included 65 schools with 350 boys and 150 girls from all over North India Manpreet scored three points in his five games,with a 60 per cent win record. Indermeet Singh,Manpreets father,watched his son beat eighth and ninth graders from Bal Bharati Public School and Alpine Public School Himachal Pradesh respectively,before losing to Modern School Vasant Vihar in the final match. He takes chess very seriously, Indermeet said. A doctor by profession,Indermeet taught his son all he knew in the game which he played up to the university level. I noticed that he was picking up the tactics and moves very quickly. While we played casual chess at home till he was four,I was finding it very difficult to keep up with his growing knowledge, he said. Solanki claims that Manpreet picked up the competitive level after just a few sessions in his academy. I havent seen somebody so young with so much talent in the game. He knows his way around the 64 squares. I was surprised at how quickly he learns what he is taught. Preeti Narang,Manpreets first grade teacher agrees whole-heartedly. The thought process is very quick when it comes to Manpreet. He is very good at mathematics which he has acquired due to chess, she said. Manpreet will take part in the All India nationals in Ahmedabad in December this year. Looking forward to witnessing his son shine on the big stage,Indermeet has his fingers crossed for Manpreet to win the under-7 category. Were all hoping for the best, he said.
