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Journalism of Courage
I did not play an Indian for 11 years and didn8217;t know that something was brewing in my own backyard : Anand on Sasikiran, his Chennai-mate who beat him in the World Cup at Hyderabad and almost knocked him out of the event
There was a time when chess enthusiasts, dazzled by the brilliance and consistency of Viswanathan Anand, would ask, 8216;8216;After Anand, who?8217;8217; No longer. As India embarks today on another Mission Chess Olympiad 8212; the biennial tournament in which 120-odd countries take part 8212; in Slovenia, the team will be led not by Anand but by Krishnan Sasikiran, backed by Koneru Humpy, Meenakshi Subbaraman and Surya Sekhar Ganguly.
Forget the second generation, there8217;s a third waiting in the wings: watch out for 10-year-old Parimarjan Negi of New Delhi, 13-year-old G Rohit of Andhra Pradesh, Dronavalli Harika of Andhra Pradesh and 14-year-old Saheli Nath of Rajasthan.
The recent Hyderabad world cup saw stellar performances from Humpy, who reached the semi-finals, and S Meenakshi who was knocked out in the quarters. And, of course, Sasikiran8217;s defeat of eventual winner Anand, after which the latter said he 8216;8216;could not sleep at night.8217;8217;
The evolution has been quick because we now have the age-group championships in which India have produced many gold medal winners, including Humpy and P Harikrishna, who have started representing the country at the age of 15.
Anand, though, is still the frame of reference for any debate or discussion on Indian chess. When he became the World junior champion and India8217;s first Grandmaster at the age of 18, it opened a glorious chapter in the country8217;s chess history. Today 18 is the age at which you become the World champion Ruslan Ponomariov has done it already and you are already in the big league when you are still in school.
For all his achievements in world chess, Anand8217;s legacy in India is huge, one that is being pursued fervently by chess communities in India. Not many knew that there was big money in chess; Anand8217;s exploits in the west opened up new vistas in the area of professional chess in the country. The kind of activity in the game in India in the last decade shows that it8217;s not just the number of players to increase remarkably, there are coaches, academies, both private and patronised by institutions and corporates, arbiters and even organisers.
The All India Chess Federation, according to conservative estimates, may not have still capitalised on Anand8217;s exploits fully by getting all the corporates into the sport but it has achieved a very practical goal by setting up a solid base for chess at the grassroot level.
It is this semi-organised infrastructure that has led to, fed and maintained the chess boom. There may be several leit-motifs to the plot, like sponsors, the attitude of the Government, television coverage, which are essential tools to spread the game but at the factory of chess, coaching is now the password to transform chess from a mere game to a competitive professional sport in India produce world class players.
That8217;s what nine-time national champion Manuel Aaron, Nasiruddin Ghalib, former secretary of the AICF, and current incumbent PT Ummer Koya agree on.
Indian chess at the moment is rolling out prodigies in large numbers every year but the need is to accommodate them in a system that would ensure that these talents are groomed properly, as in Russia or even China.
It8217;s a herculean task to found a system, whether in chess or any other sport in India, in a short period. In Russia and Yugoslavia, the government played a crucial role in accepting the game as a priority sport extending it all the facilities and encouraging world champions like Mikhail Botwinnik to personally oversee the coaching process at the 8216;Young Pioneers8217; from where the Garry Kasparovs and Anatoly Karpovs rolled out to the international stage.
We too have a world champion in Anand and it was interesting to know from him that no offer had yet been made by either the Central or Tamil Nadu government to start an academy that will meaningfully rein the chess upsurge in India.
Ummer Koya says he has forwarded, for five years, development plans to the Government and insists that coaching occupies the central place in the scheme.
The federation official also acknowledges that the Government has given the go-ahead for the federation to bring in foreign coaches and train the Indian talents at different levels. 8216;8216;We have been doing this for the last two years and you can see the results,8217;8217; says the AICF secretary.
Today Evgeny Vladimirov, Ruslan Scherbakov, Alexandre Lyssenko, all renowned coaches, are in India training Indian teams for specific tournaments and also help the young talents for general preparations. It shouldn8217;t be too long, then before we see more Anands at such camps.
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Princess in waiting
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D Harika Age 11 The rise of Dronavalli Harika, the new chess prodigy from Guntur, has been swift. If Koneru Humpy is a queen in the making, Harika, 11, is the princess-in-waiting. And she8217;s already reached where Humpy was at her age. A veteran at the international level, she8217;s won two world silver medals in u-10 038; u-12 girls category and recently retained the national junior girls8217; title. She also had her quota of success at the Asian level, bagging the u-12 038; u-18 titles this year. Recently inducted into Wipro sponsorship scheme, Harika is a player to watch in the immediate future. Humpy took some time to get recognition from the fellow chess players and be noticed at the world scene whereas Harika is already being talked about among her peers. Story continues below this ad 8216;8216;Harika is playing well. She made a mistake at an important moment. She lacks international exposure but for her age she is doing exceedingly well. With practice she will soon turn out to be a tough competitor,8217;8217; acknowledged the Olympic top board gold medallist Victorija Cmylite of Lithuania. National women champion S Vijayalakshmi makes a clear judgement on Harika. 8216;8216;Harika has improved a lot. She is concentrating very well and has a lot of stamina. She8217;s analysing better and has risen fast. She8217;s on the right path to success.8217;8217; After her world cup run, Harika said: 8216;8216;I played this tournament for experience and I didnt expect any result. I8217;m happy to win against Maya Chiburdanidze. She made mistakes and I won. I don8217;t have any fear. After reaching a winning position I was confident of winning. I just played my game.8217;8217; 8212; S Sujatha |
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Mental Mathemagician
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Parimarjan Negi Age 9 Others of his age 8212; not yet 10 8212; spend their hours imitating Dravid, watching Cartoon Network or acting out their favourite hero8217;s latest dance steps. Parimarjan Negi crunches numbers for fun; when he8217;s serious, he stares at a chessboard for hours. Then demolishes his opponent. A student of New Delhi8217;s Amity School, Negi is tipped to be the next World age-group champion from India, like P Harikrishna and Koneru Humpy before him. Earlier this year, he won the Asian under-10 title in Tehran with a round to spare; in a fortnight from today, he will play in the world under-10 chess championship in Greece. He8217;s also the youngest Indian to achieve a FIDE rating. His exceptional qualities showed through at an early age, prompting his father to buy him a chessboard and help him channelise his gift. He8217;s a wizard with mental mathematics 8212; ask him, as his father did in public, 8216;8216;What is 60 plus 30 minus 20 multiplied by 5 and divided by 10.8217;8217;. Within seconds came the answer: 35. Story continues below this ad However, what8217;s most impressed his coach GB Joshi are his analytical skills. 8216;8216;Most of the youngsters follow their coach8217;s instructions word for word. But Parimarjan applies his own theory and tries to solve the problem with his logic. He is absolutely a different player.8217;8217; No wonder, then that one of his favourite players is 8212; apart, of course, from Anand 8212; is the legendary Alexander Alekhine. 8216;8216;Calculation was Alekhine8217;s forte and I liked it. Because the intuitive approach doesn8217;t help much.8217;8217; Negi recently spent a month in Kozhikode, where he stayed 8212; happily, though he missed his mother8217;s cooking 8212; with AICF secretary Ummer Koya. 8216;8216;He is a very charming boy,8217;8217; says Ummer Koya. 8216;8216;I see a bright future for him. I think he has the talent to become the youngest Grandmaster and the youngest world champion.8217;8217; What lies ahead? His parents 8212; both with the Air Traffic Control in Delhi 8212; are taking no chances. His coaching and travel to tournaments is top priority for them and they live accordingly, but it8217;s only a matter of time before Parimarjan fulfils his vast potential. 8212; Hari Hara Nandanan 038; Aminul Islam |
