E-Paper
Online ‘knight’ checkmates Abhimanyu’s lockdown with ‘live’ tournaments
One of city’s best chess players misses playing his favourite hobby- football- during the lockdown, but Abhimanyu Puranik continues to hone his skills in chess through online tournaments.
Abhimanyu Puranik, Chess Player
One of city’s best chess players misses playing his favourite hobby- football- during the lockdown, but Abhimanyu Puranik continues to hone his skills in chess through online tournaments.
Puranik became a Grandmaster (GM) in 2017 and has a rating of 2440 in rapid category, 2460 in blitz and 2584 in classical. The 20-year old, who trains with Jayant Gokhale since 2007, is a sharp thinker and believes in improving his game every day. He is also trains under Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan since 2014.
The first memorable moment in his chess career arrived when he became Candidate Master (CM) in 2010, then, he proved his talent by becoming International Master (IM) in 2015.
Puranik is currently locked down at his residence on DP road, Erandwane.
Morning session
I wake late these days at 9.30am because I play chess till 2am at night. I quickly do some cardio like skipping. Since my first session starts at 10:30 am, I don’t spend a lot of time doing exercises. Once the session starts at 10:30 am, it continues till 1:30pm. In this session, my focus is to improve my game skills.
Afternoon session
The chess session ends at 1:30pm and after that I have lunch and then, relax. I watch movies on the television or listen to music till 4pm.
Evening session
My second chess session starts at 4:30pm, where I solve different puzzles and chess problems and chess endgame to keep myself tactically sharp. At 6:30pm, I do some exercises likes dips, push-ups and burpees. Although chess is a mental game, all these exercises are very important for any chess player. I spend 30 minutes doing these exercises and after that I spend quality time with my family.
Chess tournaments late night
At 10:30pm, I am back playing chess via online tournaments which happen at night. The competition is always tough in these tournaments as top players from various countries take part in them. Many a times, I play these tournaments or sometimes, I do a practice session. I wind up for the day at 2am.
Hobbies
I miss playing football as we are not allowed move out and I also like to learn different languages and currently, I am learning Spanish on the internet. I miss going out with my friends in the evening and wish this pandemic ends soon and life becomes normal again.
Gym
No Gym for me
