Kings of the 64 squares with no kingdom in sight

But despite chess possibly becoming the next great happy hunting ground for Indians in the sports arena, and the huge publicity involved in the current tournament, the sad part is that hardly any interest could be generated among the masses.

The event was hosted for the second year running by the Venus Chess Academy. President of the academy, Ravindra Dongre, explained the lack of public attention as ‘‘nothing extraordinary’’, saying, ‘‘That’s not an exceptional phenomenon for chess. We still haven’t taken chess to the masses. It will need a great effort on our part.’’

The event was webcast live, and received over 20 lakh hits, and the ‘‘great effort’’ Dongre mentions could well be in the direction of television, something Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand said was the game’s biggest handicap in India, while speaking on NDTV’s Walk The Talk programme recently. ‘‘First of all, we have to sell the game. You also have to get the game on TV. Right now, we are able to do it quite well on the Internet. But chess just hasn’t found its niche on TV. The problem is that it often looks as if nothing is happening. You really need someone to get across how exciting it is. And how dynamic it is.’’

Dongre agrees with the suggestion, and adds, ‘‘I will propose to print a two-page brochure which contains all basic info explained in a simple language. The document should be distributed in the schools all over the country. Simultaneously, a television show, anchored by a top quality anchor, could be run on air. Rapid tournaments can also be arranged to add to the entertainment value.’’

The formula Short suggests is to host more private tournaments, something as yet non-existent in the country. ‘‘If you look at the big tournaments — for example, the Corus tournament — it is a private tournament. That helps, and the issue needs to be addressed pretty urgently. A strong chess federation is also important, but it should not be a monopoly. You should have lots of private tournaments as well. This will produce the greatest good.’’ Sponsorship is one issue most sporting disciplines in India suffer from. But chess has, down the years, been okay in that regard. The Commonwealth meet, for example, didn’t have a title sponsor, but combined support from organisations like ONGC, Bharat Petroleum and MTNL saw them through.

The trick is evidently in the spread of the game, which can only be done by reaching it to the masses, and making the spectacle an exciting one for a nation obsessed with non-stop action on, say, the one-day cricket fields. Private tournaments, broadcast live on TV, with the Indian performances the highlight: a winning combination that’s waiting to be exploited.