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{{short description|Indian chess player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox chess player
| name = Manuel Aaron
| image = Manuel Aaron 1962.jpg
| caption = Manuel Aaron in 1962
| birthname =
| country = [[India]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1935|12|30|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Toungoo]], [[Myanmar]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| title = [[International Master]] (1961)
| rating = 2315 [inactive]<ref>{{fide|id=5000092}}</ref>
| peakrating = 2415 (January 1981)<ref>[http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/player/Aaron,%20Manuel.html Aaron, Manuel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612115911/http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/player/Aaron,%20Manuel.html |date=12 June 2016 }} FIDE rating history, 1971-2001 at OlimpBase</ref>
| ranking =
| peakranking =
}}

'''Manuel Aaron ''' (born 30 December 1935) is the first [[India]]n [[chess]] master in the second half of the 20th century. He dominated chess in India in the 1960s to the 1980s, was the [[Indian Chess Championship|national champion of India]] nine times between 1959 and 1981. He is India's first player to be awarded the [[International Master]] title, and is one of the key figures in introducing international chess practices to India; until the 1960s, Indian chess (known as ''[[chaturanga]]'') was often played using many local traditional variants<ref name=bharadwaj>{{cite web|url = http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2003/fmay2003/f130520031.html|title = A big boom in the brain game|author = D.K. Bharadwaj|publisher = Features, Press Information Bureau, Govt of India|date = 2003-05-13|accessdate = 2007-05-21|archive-date = 28 November 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181128195044/http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2003/fmay2003/f130520031.html|url-status = live}}</ref> (e.g. in lieu of [[castling]], the king could execute a knights move once, if it had not been checked). Aaron helped popularize the international variety, forming many chess groups and urging players to study openings and other formal chess literature.

== Life ==
Born in [[Toungoo]] (colonial [[Burma]]) of Indian parents, Aaron grew up in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]], where he did his schooling. He then did his [[B.Sc.]] from [[Allahabad University]]. Aaron was Indian National Champion nine times (out of 14 championships between 1959–1981), including a run of five consecutive titles between 1969 and 1973. He also won the Tamil Nadu Chess Championship eleven times (1957–1982); after him, Tamil Nadu emerged as the chess powerhouse of India.

He won the West Asian Zonal against Mongolia's Sukien Momo 3–1 (earning his International Master's rating), and the Asian-Australian Zonal final against [[Cecil Purdy]] of Australia 3–0 in 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/chess/players/manuel-aaron.html|title = Manuel Aaron Profile|work = iloveindia.com|access-date = 22 May 2007|archive-date = 27 September 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927013941/http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/chess/players/manuel-aaron.html|url-status = live}}</ref> In 1962, he won the [[Arjuna Award]] for Indian sportsmen, the first-ever chess player to be so honoured.<ref name="ti2013">{{cite web|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-09/chess/43854503_1_international-master-first-chess-player-competitive-chess|title=Tamil Nadu was a hotbed for chess in the 1960s|accessdate=3 December 2013|archive-date=8 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208101046/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-09/chess/43854503_1_international-master-first-chess-player-competitive-chess|work=[[The Times of India]]|url-status=dead}}</ref>

These wins at the Asian level qualified him for the Interzonals, and in 1962, he played in the Stockholm [[interzonal]] and although finishing last (23rd place), his game was notable for the defeats he inflicted on grandmasters [[Lajos Portisch]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1112968 |title=Manuel Aaron vs Lajos Portisch, Stockholm Interzonal (1962), Stockholm SWE, rd 22, Mar-04. |access-date=4 September 2019 |archive-date=26 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626094120/https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1112968 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Wolfgang Uhlmann]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1157332 |title=Wolfgang Uhlmann vs Manuel Aaron, Stockholm Interzonal (1962), Stockholm SWE, rd 18, Feb-25. |access-date=11 November 2008 |archive-date=26 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626010221/https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1157332 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Aaron also played thrice with the Indian team at the [[Chess Olympiad]]s. He captained the Indian team at [[Leipzig]] 1960 (+2 –10 =8) including a win over [[Max Euwe]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1398836 |title=Manuel Aaron vs Max Euwe, Leipzig ol (Men) qual-B (1960), Leipzig GDR, rd 1, Oct-17. |access-date=11 November 2008 |archive-date=11 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111204744/http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1398836 |url-status=live }}</ref> and at [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]] 1962 (+7 –6 =4), including another victory over [[Lajos Portisch]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1112999 |title=Lajos Portisch vs Manuel Aaron, Varna ol (Men) qual-D (1962), Varna BUL, rd 9, Sep-?? |access-date=11 November 2008 |archive-date=13 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813202933/http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1112999 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1964, he played at second board in [[Tel Aviv]] (+4 –7 =6). He also led India to the 2nd Asian Team Championship at [[Auckland]] in 1977 and to the 4th Asian Team championship at [[Hangchow]] in China in 1981. He finished fourth in the [[Commonwealth Chess Championship|Commonwealth Championship]] at [[Hong Kong]] 1984. The event was won by [[Kevin Spraggett]] and [[Murray Chandler]].

He is the author of ''Dubai Olympiad 1986'' and a journalist for [http://www.hinduonnet.com/ ''The Hindu''] newspaper. His son, Arvin, is also a well known journalist.

=== Contributions to Indian chess culture ===
Having emerged in an environment with a minimal chess culture, Aaron was very sensitive to the growth of chess awareness in India. He did much to further chess as the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Chess Association (1977 and 1997) and also as chairman of the All India Chess Federation. It was 17 years before India had its second International Master, V. Ravikumar (1978),<ref name=bharadwaj/> and it had its first grandmaster ([[Viswanathan Anand]]) only in 1988.

At the time of the [[World Chess Championship 2013|2013 World Championship match in Chennai]], Manuel Aaron was still active in Indian chess circles.<ref name="ti2013" />

== Notable games ==
* [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1398836, Manuel Aaron vs Max Euwe, Leipzig ol (Men) qual-B 1960, Indian Game: Capablanca Variation (A47), 1–0]
* [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1112999, Lajos Portisch vs Manuel Aaron, Varna 1962, King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Main Line (E69), 0-1]
* [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1157332, Wolfgang Uhlmann vs Manuel Aaron, Stockholm izt 1962, King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Classical Main Line (E69), 0-1]

== References ==
<references/>

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron, Manuel}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian chess players]]
[[Category:Chess International Masters]]
[[Category:Tamil sportspeople]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award]]
[[Category:University of Allahabad alumni]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in British Burma]]

Manuel Aaron - Revision history

CleanupBot at 04:50, 18 August 2021