The enthusiasm is there, but…

Published : Nov 29, 2008 00:00 IST

The champ... M.R. Lalith Babu and Soumya Swaminathan.-VIJAYA BHASKAR
The champ... M.R. Lalith Babu and Soumya Swaminathan.-VIJAYA BHASKAR
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The champ... M.R. Lalith Babu and Soumya Swaminathan.-VIJAYA BHASKAR

The lack of corporate support seems to be a major concern in the sport. The parents of many IM and GM-norm holders are unable to send their children to participate in ranking tournaments abroad, writes J. R. Shridharan.

Vijayawada’s M. R. Lalith Babu and Soumya Swaminathan of Pune emerged champions in contrasting styles in the National Junior Chess Championship at Tadepalligudem (West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh) recently.

For Lalith, 15, an intermediate student of Chaitanya College, it was an uphill task as he was pitted against a bunch of highly-rated International Masters from Tamil Nadu. Trailing P. Karthikeyan, who finished runner-up, Lalith picked up momentum in t he second half of the tournament, scoring impressive victories in the last three rounds to capture his maiden title. He logged nine points from 11 rounds.

It was a glorious moment for the West Godavari Chess Association (WGCA), for it not only conducted a National tournament after a long gap of 53 years, but also saw one of its players emerge victorious.

Soumya Swaminathan, 19, was simply unstoppable in the girls section, as she ran through the opposition to garner 10 points from 11 rounds to lift the coveted trophy. For the commerce student from BMCC College in Pune, this was her third junior title.

Soumya, incidentally, has completed all WGM norms and her name will figure in the next FIDE list. “I achieved the final norm at the Benasque tournament in Spain in July,” said Soumya, who trains at Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte’s academy.

Padmini Rout of Orissa, 19, who won the World U-14 gold medal at the World Youth Championship in Vietnam, took the second place in the girls section with eight points.

The girls section lacked the competitive edge as many state associations failed to send their teams. “Associations like Delhi, Goa, Karnataka and Bengal did not send their players which took the sheen off the tournament,” said the chief arbiter, V. Ravichandran.

Youngsters from Orissa put up an encouraging performance both in the boys and girls sections. “There is a surge in chess activity in Orissa. Inspired by World U-14 champion Padmini Rout, Woman International Master Kiran Manisha Mohapatra and Debashis Das, many youngsters are taking to chess in a serious manner,” said Ravichandran.

While the young players were busy plotting moves against their rivals, their parents, who waited outside the hall patiently, discussed ways and means of getting financial help to enable their wards progress in chess. The lack of corporate support is haunting the parents of many IM and GM-norm holders.

“I don’t know whether to feel happy or sad, I hope Lalith’s achievement will draw the attention of some philanthropist. I am unable to send him to rating tournaments abroad owing to financial constraints. He needs just two more norms to become a Grandmaster,” said V. Padma, soon after her son’s triumph.

The WGCA deserved praise for organising the tournament at short notice following the decision of the Andhra Pradesh Chess Association to shift the venue from Vijayawada due to unavoidable reasons.

The All India Chess Federation (AICF) will send the top six players in both sections to international tournaments. Making the cut are M. R. Lalith Babu, P. Karthikeyan, B. Adhiban, M. Shyam Sundar, V. A. V. Rajesh and Jain Shreyansh Daklia from the boys section and Soumya Swaminathan, Padmini Rout, Kiran Manisha Mohanty, S. Harini, Meenu Ravindran and P. Uthra from the girls section.

“It’s a great opportunity for the players to play against quality players and thus enhance their skills,” said the AICF general-secretary D. V. Sundar.

The AICF, keen to popularise the game among school children, is planning to conduct a National inter-school chess championship for the first time early next year.

FINAL STANDINGSBoys

1. M. R. Lalith Babu (9), 2-3: P. Karthikeyan, B. Adhiban (8.5), 4-5: M. Shyam Sundar, Jain Shreyansh Daklia (8), 6-10: V. A. V. Rajesh, P. Shyam Nikil, Vishnu Prasanna, S. P. Sethuraman, Sagar Shah (7.5).

Girls

1. Soumya Swaminathan (10), 2. Padmini Rout (8.5), 3. Kiran Manisha Mohanty (8), 4-6: S. Harini, Meenu Rajendran, P. Uthra (7.5), 7-9: Ch. Divyasri, R. Preethi, Tejaswini Reddy (7), 10. Mitali Madhukar Patil (6.5).

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