VISHWANATHAN ANAND

The first non-Russian, since Bobby Fischer, to win the World Chess Championship title, Viswanathan Anand is also India's first Grandmaster who single handedly brought in a Chess revolution in the country..

Anand was drawn to the game at six, as he watched his parents play. Gifted with an ability to grasp fast and a phenomenal memory, young Anand excelled at the Tal Chess Club, Chennai, where his parents used to take him. He won the bronze at the World Sub-Junior Championship (Paris, 1984). His first National title came in 1986 at Mumbai. In 1987, he became the first Asian to win the World Junior Chess Championship. In 1992, he won the formidable Reggio Emilia Tournament. But certainly, the high-point of his career so far, has been his becoming the 15th World Chess Champion at Teheran, on 24th December 2000, defeating Spain's Alexei Shirov (3.5 - 0.5, in the fourth of the six-game final).

In his preparation, Anand is ably supported by his team comprising Aruna (his wife) and his seconds - Elizabar Ubilava and Pablo San Segundo. Apart from the pre-match cerebral preparation, Anand also works on his physical fitness; at the gym and with a sauna. This grandmaster has shattered the myth that genius begets eccentricity. His 'boy-next-door' looks and demeanour have inspired countless young people to take to the game.

Among the several awards he has received are the Arjuna Award for Outstanding Indian Sportsman (1985), the Padmashree (1987), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (first ever recipient, 1991-92) and the Chess 'Oscar' Best Chess Player (1997 and 1998). He was also awarded the British Chess Federation 'Book of the Year' Award (1998), for his book 'My Best Games of Chess.'

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KRISHNAMACHARI SRIKKANTH

Born on 21st December 1959, in Chennai, Kris Srikkanth exploded on the international cricket scene when he was 21. With his high-octane batting style, he was one of the heroes of the 1983 World Cup and also starred in the 1987 and 1992 tournaments.

He was a swashbuckling opening batsman, who ripped through the toughest bowling attacks with his fearless pulling, hooking and driving. Spotted for his keen eye and quick reflexes, he was a great crowd puller. He scored his 4,092 runs in 146 ODI (One-Day International) matches, at an average of 29.02. In test matches he scored 2,062 runs from 72 innings (with an average of 29.88). His highest score in test matches and ODIs was 123.

By the mid '80s, he had learnt to discipline his attacking methods, and stayed on as a regular opening batsman till 1989. That very year, he was made captain for the Pakistan tour, in which he succeeded in drawing all four test matches. However his batting failed to click on the tour.

Srikkanth was a natural ODI player, for, at the time of his retirement, he had scored more runs and centuries than any other Indian player, and that too in a very short period of time. Truly one of India's cricketing greats.

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