Narayanan hopes to crack 2700 points soon

‘I would have wanted to play in more events, but am selective because of lack of funds’

After enjoying a fair amount of success in online chess tournaments during the pandemic, Grandmaster S.L. Narayanan has shifted his focus to regular tournaments in a bid to reach the magical figure of 2700 points. Last month, the 23-year-old, whose current rating is 2624 points, finished second in the RTU Open Chess tournament in Riga, Latvia. In a tough tournament, Narayanan drew the last round with Israeli GM Ilia Smirin to finish second behind Germany’s Alexander Donchenko. The RTU Open was the second regular tournament which Narayanan participated in this year after the Bangladesh league in March. Narayanan will take part in the Sharjah Masters next week.