CHENNAI: An Anand win in the world championship is improbable now, even though it's not impossible. Whether Anand becomes the world champion for a sixth time or not, his stature as a pioneer in Indian chess will never be diminished.
One of the legacies of the Anand-Carlsen match, under way in Chennai with the aid of '29crore sponsorship provided by the Tamil Nadu government, would be motivating more children to take up chess across the country. Another, more important one, would be acting as a launch pad for the next Anand.
The whole country is, justifiably, celebrating Anand. He deserves all the plaudits coming his way. However, the big question is whether we are doing enough for the development of potential Anands. The five-time world champion needed sponsorship from Ramco in his younger days to chase his chess dream, even though his father was a top official in Southern Railway .
Chess is no longer an elite sport. It's fast becoming a rage for all the sections of the society . The next Anand is likely to emerge from the middleclass. Chess may appear to be a simple game of 64 squares and 32 pieces, but the expenses involved in grooming a chess player are prohibitive. Coaching, travelling costs within and outside India, food, accommodation and entry fee can burn a big hole even in the pocket of a wealthy parent.
Imagine the plight of parents whose children aren't old enough to travel alone or in a group.
Vr. Aravindh Chithambaram is an Asian U-14 gold medallist and a silver medal winner at the U-14 world championship. He has also won national titles in U11, 13 and 19 sections. Aravindh, who also holds the record for being the youngest winner of the national U-19 title, has talent in abundance. Nothing else. None of his titles has got him monetary help from state and central governments.
Aravindh lost his father when he was three years old and his widowed mother Vr. Deivanai is keeping the family engine running with whatever she earns as a small savings agent. In addition, she has to pay for her son's costly chess journey.
A native of Madurai, Deivanai moved her family to Chennai earlier this year to help Aravindh join Velammal School, which has a reputation for supporting talented chess players. The 14-year-old boy can also get expert coaching in Chennai besides enjoying more tournament exposure. But Deivanai's job has become tougher.
She has to go to Madurai every month to collect dues from her small savings scheme customers and deposit them in post office. The commission she gets for the work is meagre.
“It's difficult to collect money if you don't live in the same area. But for my son's chess, I had no option other than relocating to Chennai,“ Deivanai said. “The rent in Chennai is exorbitant. I'm pulling along with some support from ONGC. Aravindh's coach GM R.B. Ramesh is also considerate as he knows my family situation.“
Announcements about international events frighten Deivanai these days. “One foreign trip means I have to arrange '1 lakh. It's increasingly becoming difficult for me to borrow money from others. Aravindh missed some crucial trips abroad after people who had promised to lend me money failed to do so. What can I do with cups and trophies?
Except for an exposure trip for those coming within top six in national U-19 and U-15 tournaments, the union government does little. But Aravindh must take part in GM tournaments abroad to improve his rating and win IM and GM titles,“ she said.
Even as the disheartened mother is full of worries about her son's chess career, Aravindh continues to make her proud. The youngster stunned fourth seed and GM Ter Shakyan Samvel of Armenia on Tuesday in the Chennai Open international GM tournament, which is being conducted to commemorate the world championship. After the eighth round on Wednesday, Aravindh, at 6.5 points, is sharing the second spot with an Indian GM.
IM Karthikeyan, another promising player from Tamil Nadu, is also struggling without sponsors. His father Murali said he's not able to support Karthikeyan financially despite being an engineer.
“I have debts running into Rs 10 lakh. Sometimes I wonder whether I should allow my son to play chess further. At the same time, I'm inclined to borrow more when experts tell me that Karthikeyan could be the next Anand,“ he added. The 14-year-old Karthikeyan is already ranked among the top 50 of India in the open category .
All young champions from Tamil Nadu are looking up to state chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, who has brought the chess world's attention to Chennai by sponsoring the AnandCarlsen match. There are schemes in SDAT that assure IMs from Tamil Nadu Rs 3 lakh and GMs Rs 5 lakh. But nothing has been paid in recent times.
In addition, the CM can also order handsome cash prizes to medal winners in continental and world events. The sports-loving chief minister can certainly pave the way for Aravindhs and Karthikeyans to emulate Anand. There is optimism in the chess community that Ms Jayalalithaa, who has made the mind game a happening sport through her singular efforts, would also come to the aid of budding champions.
Arbiter from Armenia loves Indian sojourn
Arbiter from Armenia loves Indian sojourn
DC/ S Sujatha
Chess arbiters are generally backstage people when compared with football referees and cricket umpires. But in world championship matches, they are the only persons allowed inside the glass cubicle apart from the two chess players. International arbiter Ashot Vardapetyan, 59, is not new to world matches.
He was the chief arbiter for the AnandGelfand match in Moscow last year. While the Armenian was hesitant to open up initially, after two weeks into the championship he was more than willing to talk.
“India and Armenia are unique. Both have ancient history and both countries have one world chess champion each -Viswanathan Anand and Tigran Petrosian,“ he said.
“I have studied about Chennai (earlier Madras), which was an important place under the colonial period. The sea route was important for trade and Madras acted as a link for the entire Asian continent,“ he added. Vardapetyan, who is in Chennai with his wife Anahit, 49, has already visited Kapaleeswarar temple and the oldest Armenian church in the city .
“We also visited Mahabalipuram where we saw a lot of sculptures and an elephant made of single stone. In Armenia, we have a church carved in one stone. It is interesting to note the similarities,“ he said. The couple have two sons named after chess players -Tigran and Levon. The names also mean tiger and lion in English. “We already have two art pieces of lion at home.
So I made it a point to buy one wooden tiger besides a few elephants from India,“ said Anahit who has taken leave from her foreign relations department work in the Armenian government to explore India.
Armenia, a country of three million people, has more chess GMs per capita. The strong chess nation has 24 GMs, 4 WGMs, 17 IMs and 4 WIMs. Levon Aronian, world no.2 behind Carlsen, is from Armenia. The country's men team has won chess Olympiad three times apart from winning European and world team events.
A PEEP INTO PLAYERS' LOUNGE
A PEEP INTO PLAYERS' LOUNGE
DC/ TN Raghu
You wouldn't be surprised by the frequency of Magnus Carlsen's visits to his private room during the world chess championship against Viswanathan Anand if you know the five-star facilities that are available for him away from the board. From custom-made leather sofas to refrigerators overflowing with soft drinks and custom-made drinks, the contestants for the biggest prize in chess have everything they can ask for in their lounge.
For a start, both Anand and Carlsen have exclusive lifts to reach the playing hall on the ground floor of Hyatt Regency . The Indian and his team are staying on the 10th and topmost floor of the hotel on Anna Salai while Team Carlsen are put up in rooms on the sixth floor.
Anand and Carlsen have a common restroom inside the spacious lounge to the right of the playing room. As a precautionary measure, the organisers have kept separate towels bearing the names of the chess heroes near the washbasin.
On the top tray of Carlsen's fridge, sippers bearing the Norwegian's name are kept to possibly remind him that he was on track as far as reaching the one allocated for him. Even though Anand doesn't visit the room to relax as much as his opponent, he has plates filled with snacks in case he needed some food for stomach in a prolonged battle involving the mind.
The players can admire the beauty of artwork on glass before they use the chairs inside the lounge. The organisers have also got back-up chairs at the ready for the players to use during the game if the original ones broke down. Carlsen likes to walk a lot to tickle his brain and come out of tricky situations at the board.
'Chess is in Jewish DNA'
'Chess is in Jewish DNA'
DC/ TN Raghu
There is something in Jewish blood that makes the ethnic group pre-eminent in chess. There are so many Jewish players on the list of world champions that it would be easier to count the others.
Wilhelm Steintz, the first official world champion in 1886, was Jewish. Boris Gelfand, who lost to Viswanathan Anand in the final of the big match last year, also belongs to the community . Born in Belarus, Gelfand is now a naturalised Israeli.
Manuel Aaron, India's first international master, is a keen student of history. He said Jewish excellence in chess wasn't a coincidence. “There is something in Jewish people that makes them stand out in the game. I'm fascinated by their dominance over the years. One of the oldest sayings in chess is: the best players are Russian Jews, nonRussian Jews and the others, in that order,“ he added.
Quite a few iconic names in chess belong to the community . In the first part of the 20th century , the trio of Emmanuel Lasker, Mikhail Botvinnik and Mikhail Tal dominated the mind game. Bobby Fischer, whose epic duel with Boris Spassky (whose Jewish ancestry is still debated) in 1972 transformed the sport, was half Jewish.
Garry Kasparov, another all-time great, was born to a Jewish father and an Armenian mother. Fide vice-president Israel Gelfer, himself Jewish, is proud of his community's excellence in an intellectual game like chess.
“Chess is in Jewish DNA. Jewish people are clever,“ he said. “If you do a research on the Nobel Prize winners, you will know what I mean.“
Gelfer highlighted Israel's 10th position on Fide's list of highest rated nations with an average elo of 2632 and the country's consistent performances at the Olympiads. Israel has 39 grandmasters compared with India's 34.
“For a country of seven million people, Israel's record isn't bad,“ the Fide official added. The Jewish influence in chess hasn't waned yet. The Polgar sisters -Susan, Judit and Zsofia -belong to the community . World no.2 Levon Aronian, Peter Svidler and Teymour Radjabov are some notable Jewish names among active players today.
