Chennai: Former World Champion, Viswanathan Anand on Monday singled out GMs Sasikiran and Koneru Humpy as the brightest stars on the horizon among Indian youth in the competitive world of chess.

Participating in a felicitation function got up by Asia's IT major, NIIT, he said, "We have enormous potential and our junior players have all come of age in age group competitions in the world for players up to the age of 20. Their progress has been phenomenal. Harikrishna and Humpy have been doing well in the circuit."

Anand, nicknamed the 'lightning kid' a decade ago, when he broke into the top, said, "Sasikiran has broken into the top 50 and presently is ranked 40th in the world. He is one who is going to improve upon this like Humpy, another strong player."

Asked whether he expected the young brigade to pose a challenge to him, Anand said, "none will find it easy. In general, I would like to be paranoid."

On the sponsorship received by the youngsters, which was lacking in his time, he said, "it is a good sign, as otherwise, these youngsters, who have the ability to raise their game, will find it difficult to break even."

Stating clearly that he would not participate in the Olympiad in Greece, the World Cup defending champion said, "I will be preparing for the Hyderabad World Cup, starting from October 8, on my return from Moscow."

On his ambitious plans for a chess academy, Anand said, "I wanted to test the waters. I have learnt a lot from the five-day camp, which I held for seven top Indian players last week. I would like to build on that."

Anand disagreed with a question put by a reporter, on whether GMs would be better FIDE administrators and said, "We are rivals on the Board. Perhaps it will not work out that a player could be a good administrator."

He said, 'The FIDE can do a lot more for the betterment of the game. Though reunification took place in Prague recently, it will take about two more years for the results. However, the FIDE should be in constant touch with the players before they decide on rules and formats, besides other things."

Anand opined that FIDE would have to go in for better marketing and move along professional lines. Weekly or monthly ELO ratings would be more useful than the present six months and one-year ratings, he said.

Giving an account of his performance this year, Anand felt that it has been 'generally encouraging'. He said he would be leaving for Moscow on Sept 5 to play in the 'Match of the Century' between the Top Ten in the world versus top 10 Russians, starting on September 8.

Anand also launched the 12th Bhavishya Jyoti Scholarships to help students garner the right aptitude to pursue careers in IT and related areas.

L Balasubramanian, senior vice-president, NIIT, who also spoke, said, "Anand is the greatest sportsperson India has ever produced, with an enviable track record in the game of 64 squares."

PTI