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CHENNAI: Decades before five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand powered the country's chess story, it was Mir Sultan Khan who gave India its first hero in the sport.

While Anand's feats on the chess board have been widely chronicled, very little is known about Sultan's glorious chapters. Grandmaster Daniel King, through his biography on Sultan released earlier this month, has revisited the life of a player who ruled the chess world much before any Indian did. Titled 'Sultan Khan - The Indian Servant Who Became Chess Champion Of The British Empire' - the book's foreword has been written by Anand.

In 1928, Khan organized the all-India championships which Sultan won. A well-known British loyalist, Khan went to London on a political mission in 1929 with Sultan accompanying him. While Khan was fiercely loyal to the erstwhile rulers of India, Sultan remained apolitical and concentrated on what he knew best - chess. Sultan showcased his chess prowess as he pocketed the British championships in 1929, 1932 and 1933.

Despite those wins, King revealed how Sultan was liked by the British thanks to his endearing nature. "Sultan learned an Indian form of chess before switching to the western style and still managed to achieve so much - that to me is the heart of the story. As I researched more on him, I found Sultan to be a generous individual who would often praise his opponents," Daniel told TOI.

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How 'Sultan' of Indian chess won over Brits, beat Capablanca - Times of India