New Delhi: He used to be a "one dimensional player" but over the years, India's youngest Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi has adapted more "rounded and universal styles" of play which he is looking to use in the biennial Chess World Cup next month.
"I used to be a one dimensional player going just for the attack, or the complications, but I think over the years I have matured as a player. I believe I have adapted to more rounded and universal style of play. There are many different ways to play chess and I have started adapting to those styles," Negi said.
"Still, its an ongoing process and I always need to work on little parts of my game. I feel I have also improved in dealing with the psychological aspect but this area still requires more improvement. But such improvements don't necessarily result in an automatic rise in the ratings as they need to be combined perfectly with the other chess traits," he added.
Negi have had a good season so far, having won the Cappelle de Grande chess event in France in February and Spring Open International chess tournament in Dallas, Texas in March.
In addition to that, he ended up winning the Continental Chess Association Open in Washington and was declared the joint winner of the USD 43,000 World Open Chess in Virginia this month.
Negi, however, feels that it's been a mixed year for him as he failed to defend his Asian Championship title in Manila.
"It's been a mixed year for me. I had ended last year on a low with the AAI Cup in Delhi. But after a short break, I started solidly with a few top 3 place finishes in Europe and then winning the Dallas event," he said.
"But then, I had a disastrous Asian Championship. So in terms of rating I didn't go up as much because as my flop show in Manila cut out my gains from other events. Still, the (Washington) DC events were a positive sign, especially considering the back-to-back gruelling schedule," said the 20-year-old from Delhi.
Negi's aim this year is to remain in perfect shape for the World Cup to be held from August 10 to September 5 in Troms, Norway.
"The World Cup has been a major focus for me this year, and I hoped to be in perfect shape in the run up to the tournament," he said.
"Yet, the knockout format is very unpredictable, and anything can happen in such events. I will try to use the unpredictability to my advantage and hope to cause a few upsets. But eventually all I can do is to stay in a good shape and be ready to face the pressure there," he said.
"My main aim is to remove the imprecisions that keeps creeping into my game which often results in performances. I need to be in the best shape and be ready to face the unexpected there (World Cup)," he added.
Prior to the World Cup, Negi will be going to Denmark to play in the Politiken Cup later this month.
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