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Dibyendu Barua, the second Indian Grandmaster after Viswanathan Anand, was born on October 27, 1966. Despite some notable achievements over the years, Barua has not been able to deliver on the promise he showed as a young kid.
In 1978, when Dibyendu, as a 12-year-old, became the youngest participant in the National championship, chess aficionados heralded the emergence of a chess prodigy. In 1982, still in his teens, Barua beat the then world number two GM Viktor Korchnoi in London and the next year, won his maiden national championship.
In spite of such a blazing start, Barua's career did not take off as expected and after becoming an International Master, it took him nine long years to earn the Grandmaster title in 1991. Even after becoming a GM, lack of funds and adequate preparation kept Barua away from the kind of fabulous success achieved by his compatriot Viswanathan Anand.
Known for playing truant with the national championships, Barua has won the national title thrice, the latest being in 2001 when he beat a tough field of four Grandmasters and a horde of talented youngsters.
