PTI

New Delhi, Nov 28: With just 20 points adrift of the 2600 mark, Grandmaster and World Junior Champion Abhijeet Gupta has now set his eyes on the Corus Chess Championship in Wijk Ann Zee, Holland to join the elite club.

"I hope to crack the 2600 mark in the next international tournament that I am playing, the Corus Chess Championship in Wijk Ann Zee, Holland in January next year," Abhijeet said.

"I have been training for the last couple of days and after the tournament I would again start from December 25 along with my coach Vishal Sareen, who is also the official coach of this event," he added.

A die-hard fan of World Champion Vishawanath Anand, Abhijeet said for him the Indian comes at the top of his list.

"I have always idolised Anand. He is like a God to me. Winning all the three formats of the game is a great achievement and for me he will always be on the top of the list," said Abhijeet, who became the youngest National junior chess champion at the age of 13 in 2002.

Like Anand, Abhijeet also endorsed the idea of having Chess in the London Olympics in 2012.

"It is a dream for every player to play in the Olympics and for me the thought itself is so fascinating. It will help India to have some medals and apart from that personally for me it will give a chance to meet all those players whom I always adored since childhood," said the 19-year-old prodigy from Rajasthan.

Asked how did he started playing the game, Abhijeet said, "I started playing chess at the age of six with my father, then I started playing with one of my friend. I soon started reading chess books and after I won the first tournament that I played in my home town, Bilwara, there was no looking back."

Grandmaster Arun Prasad, who also features in the tournament and is nearing the 2600 mark, also has his task cut out.

"Once the next points list is released in January next year, I will have 2542 points and I feel I have a realistic chance of breaking the 2600 marks at the beginning of the 2010," said Prasad, who became Grandmaster in Philadelphia, USA in June this year.

The 20-year-old, however, feels it is difficult to pursue the game as it becomes quite a costly affair once one starts climbing the ladder.

"Chess is a costly game. It takes more than Rs 1 lakh to get a coach for around 10 days, and without a coach it is difficult to learn the techniques of the game and prepare for the tournaments.

"Also not many international tournaments are held in India. At present there are just three or four tournaments in a year. If it was say around eight to ten then one could have had some quality exposure because it isn't possible for a young player to manage the cost of travelling abroad," he said.