ANUPAMA GOKHALE...Third woman player to win National A title five times.

MUMBAI, May 2: With her fifth National A triumph, Anupama Gokhale has joined the elite band of women chess players who have won the championships that many times.

Rohini Khadilkar was the first woman to have won the premier tournament five times and was later joined by another Mumbaiite, Bhagyashree Thipsay. Now a third woman from Mumbai has joined them.

For Anupama, the fifth title came virtually without any preparation.

The 28-year-old accounts officer in Bharat Petroleum, had played in the Global Tele-Systems Open International rating tournament in Mumbai where she was declared the best woman participant ahead of the fancied Thipsay, before proceeding to Chennai. Returning from Chennai, she just had a day's stay with her family in Mumbai before embarking for Calcutta to play the National A. Seeded third behind S Vijayalakshmi, the highest rated Indian women chess player, and Bhagyashree Thipsay, Anupama could not have had a worse start, losing her first round match.

The opening match was against Vijayalakshmi, and Anupama lost after 45 moves. But she followed it up with three victories to put her campaign back on the right track.

Anupama, however, was not too perturbed after her loss to Vijayalakshmi. ``In two of my four triumphs in National A, I have lost in the first round. So I was not bothered. I had played the strongest opponent in the 14-player draw. I had to pace myself thereafter and that I did very well,'' she explains.

Anupama, the youngest Padmashree recipient at age 16, then had four draws interspersed by another victory. She had a great finish when she won all her last four round matches. Though she treated each of her opponent with respect, Anupama felt her battle against Swati Ghate in the 11th was crucial.

``I had to win the game against Ghate if I had to win the championships,'' she said. Ironically, Swati was to experience a bitter-sweet feeling after that defeat. Bitter, because she lost, and sweet because she had earned her first IWM norm.

Anupama had a tally of eight wins, four draws and one defeat for a total of 10 points, half a point ahead of Swati Ghate and Vijayalakshmi, who finished behind Anupama in that order.

Incidentally, Anupama holds a very interesting record in the National A Championships. Her first victory in 1989 came with a total of 12 victories, two draws and one defeat in a 16-player tournament. The number of victories and the 13 points she scored in that championships has remained unmatched.

Anupama, who qualified for the National A by winning the National B championships in Bangalore last year, believes that the Calcutta effort was her best in the National championships as the competition is getting tougher by the day.

``The younger players are all very well equipped with computers et al.'' Competition is what the calm and composed Anupama never shies away from as she showed in Calcutta. She also happens to be the first Indian woman to have won an Open event in the country, finishing ahead of players like International Master TS Ravi, who is currently playing the National A Championships at Bhilai. She also had victories over GM norm holder Pravin Thipsay and IM Sharad Tilak when she won the Maharashtra State Open championships.

``The State Open championships is the toughest tournament I have played as Maharashtra men's team was very strong,'' she avers.

Anupama's victory in Calcutta has assured her of 30 ELO rating points. ``When the ratings are updated in July, I am expected to gain 50 points after taking my National B victory into consideration,'' she says.

Anupama, who had the company of her husband and coach, Raghunandan, in Calcutta was in for a pleasant surprise after the penultimate round. ``A telegram from my employees, exhorting me to win the championship, boosted my confidence,'' says Anupama. ``They (BPCL) are obviously very pleased with my victory and requested me to bring the magnificent trophy for display in the head office at Ballard Pier,'' she says.

Anupama will represent the country as the No 1 player, though there are very few international events. Nevertheless, she looks forward to participating in the Commonwealth championships and the Lloyds Banks tournament in Britain in July-August.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.