My aim was to boost my rating. Becoming a FIDE Master was a bonus for me," said Shrestha, who returned home on Tuesday as a FIDE Master from the 39th Chess Olympiad.[break]
He succeeded in improving his rating too. After his splendid performance in the Olympiad, Shrestha was able to add 42 points in his rating. Now he has become the top-rated chess player of Nepal with 2138 rating points. He was able to gain 6.5 points from nine games in the Olympiad that concluded on Sunday in the northern Russian town of Khanty.
Shrestha is Nepal´s second FIDE Master. Manish Hamal had achieved the feat of becoming Nepal´s first FIDE Master after his success in the 38th Chess Olympiad in 2008.
"There was a lot of mess before my trip. I wasn´t sure whether to go or not until the last minute," he recalled the situation ahead of attending the Olympiad. "I had a keen desire to do something. It was good that I returned to the game that I had left long ago. I had gone to improve my rating, but returned as a FIDE Master. What can be more pleasant than that?" he added.
Remembering the last round match, Shrestha said, "I was guaranteed the title of FIDE Master even for a draw. I knew that I could lose the match if I got excited. So I played with a cool mind."
Shrestha was able to get the coveted title after about three decades of his involvement in the game. He was the Lalitpur chess champion in 1981. He got engaged in the game intensely after winning the title. But he left playing chess in the middle because he couldn´t manage time while working in a private firm.
"I stopped playing as it was difficult to continue it while working," said the 48-year-old Shrestha. "I returned in the game after my friends insisted that I participate in the 13th National Chess held in Bhaktapur in 2004. Then onward, I´ve been regular in the game. Now I´ll not leave," added the FIDE Master.
Shrestha says his wife has had a vital role in his continuation with the game. "If I stop playing for a few days, my wife Anjani asks why I´m not playing. That´s also a reason why I haven´t been able to disregard chess," says the father of two daughters.
He returns home at Sinamangal straight from his Thapathali office just to practice chess. "My wife is pleased that I don´t stroll anywhere else and return home straight from the office," he said, adding, "I play one hour each in the mornings and the evenings."
He believes that Nepali chess has been able to reach a new height because of the joint efforts of Nepal Chess Association and the players.
"The development of sports is not possible with the wishful thinking of the players and the associations alone," he said, "The actual development of sports cannot take place without the investment of the government. Nepali chess can move far ahead if the government invests in this game."
The government´s budget for chess, like other sports, is extremely low. All of the players who attended the Olympiad had managed their expenses themselves.
"This time we had to pay Rs 31,500, the lowest till now. How long can we go on spending money from our own pockets?" he questioned. "New players cannot progress in this way. How long can we play just for the sake of name?" he questioned.
Shrestha has decided to give continuity to the game to improve his rating further. "Now it will be a shame if the rating goes down. So I´ll not stop playing. But I´ll only play national and international games. I won´t get time to play all the games due to by work schedule," he said.
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