8230;while a GM worries about his seconds

Across the board from Pankaj Advani is the new Indian Super Grandmaster Pentyala Harikrishna. Just 18, Hari is preparing for the World Chess...

Across the board from Pankaj Advani is the new Indian Super Grandmaster Pentyala Harikrishna. Just 18, Hari is preparing for the World Chess Championships in Libya starting next month, but there8217;s a crisis he faces that he wasn8217;t within his 64 squares a few months back. He8217;s stuck without a second, simply because he can8217;t afford one.

His sponsors, WIPRO, have backed out from the annual grant they provided him, and have allowed him the option of looking for new sponsors, something Hari says is difficult at the eleventh hour, because 8216;8216;I have been very busy the past few days after coming back from training with British GM Nigel Short in September. I haven8217;t been able to go out and approach anyone. And no one has approached me yet either8217;8217;.

His biggest problem right now is to be able to afford a second, something that doesn8217;t come cheap at all. 8216;8216;I wanted to train with Short before the world championships, but it would cost me a lot. Even someone not as big would cost me more than I can afford without a sponsor. It is not good for my game, but there8217;s nothing I can do. I have to do without a second,8217;8217; Hari says, speaking to The Indian Express from his home in Hyderabad.

Like is the case with most sports outside of the televised segment, chess and chess players fail to attract the moneybags simply because there isn8217;t much exposure, especially on TV. Hari realises that, but contends, 8216;8216;Unless you show it on TV, with good professional commentators who can make the viewing enjoyable, you won8217;t know if chess can be exciting. If corporates come into the picture and put in money, I am sure we will all gain.8217;8217;

The world championships aren8217;t worrying Hari as much as some other meets, because 8216;8216;the government will pay for everything as we are representing India8217;8217;. It8217;s what happens after the meet that8217;s got Hari thinking. 8216;8216;I don8217;t know right now. Maybe I will have to cut down on a few tournaments. But I am optimistic that someone sponsors will help me out as I am just a few points away from the Super GM category which will be formally ratified in a few days8217; time,8217;8217; he says.

It8217;s all a lot, unfortunately, like the old chicken-and-egg puzzle, where in this case, it8217;s the opposite of what Hari wants that works. That8217;s how it8217;s always worked and it doesn8217;t appear like there8217;s a change in the horizon. Things at the moment are, as Hari says, 8220;just not sufficient8221;.