LANKA RAVI loved what he saw on that lovely September evening at Thunchan Parambu. The sylvan surroundings, the pond, the temple, the 'mandapam', the coconut trees and the flowers were a treat to the eyes.
The air was neither hot nor cold, but so soothingly pleasant. Coming straight from an arid and dry Chennai, it was a welcome change and he sported a contented smile.
That smile was there still intact, three days later. If anything, it was broader after he had won the eighth National rapid chess championship for the Kainikkara Mammi Memorial Trophy. Amazingly, it was the maiden National title for the veteran who had played twice for India at the chess Olympiad.
The 38-year-old International Master (IM) from ONGC, Chennai, was a class of his own at the Thunchan Memorial Research Centre, Tirur, an hour and a half's drive from Kozhikode. He remained unbeaten, after nine rounds, which were squeezed into three days.
"I am very happy to win this championship," a delighted Ravi told The Sportstar, shortly after he drew with 16-year-old M. R. Venkatesh of Capa Chess Academy, Chennai, in the final round. "It is never easy to maintain your seeding in rapid competitions, as anything can happen any time."
Tejas Bakre, the 20-year-old IM from Ahmedabad, was the top seed, but after a promising beginning, he was pushed to the fifth slot. He was in the joint lead, with the second seeded Ravi, after the fifth round, with 4.5 points. He had dropped half-a-point against teammate Rahul Shetty in the third round.
Bakre, twice Asian junior champion, still recovering from a severe attack of hepatitis, came face to face with Ravi in the sixth round. It turned out to be the most crucial game of the championship. Ravi, who had adopted French Winawer, weathered an early attack from Bakre and triumphed, making good use of a premature sacrifice from the whiteside.
Bakre never recovered from the blow. "I was playing very good chess till then, but that loss - and the way I lost - was a big setback psychologically for me," he said after the tournament.
As for Ravi, he knew his chances were bright after that important victory. He just needed to play correctly without making any big mistake, though it is easier said than done in rapid chess. But to his credit, Ravi did manage to do that.
He drew his next three games, with his teammate Varughese Koshy, Neelotpal Das of Goodricke National Chess Academy, Kolkata, who secured the runner-up spot, and Venkatesh. The Chennai lad accepted Ravi's offer after the eighth move, as he was assured of the third placing.
Ravi had also drawn his second round game, with R.S. Gupta of Chattisgarh. He was unstoppable on the second day when he won all his three games, against fifth seed and teammate P. Konguvel, 16th seed G. B. Joshi of Indian Airlines and third seed N. Sudhakar Babu of Indian Bank.
Sudhakar Babu was the biggest disappointment. The third-seeded IM from Chennai is a good player in this version of the game, but finished 16th - a big let down from his sixth place at last year's championship at Jalandhar. In 1995, he had finished runner-up. "I somehow got nothing right here," he said. "I played pretty badly."
Varughese Koshy, another veteran IM from Chennai, also could not live up to his reputation as one of India's best players in rapid chess. Koshy, who won the 1994 championship in Neyveli, was placed 11th, and was never really in the reckoning.
Neelotpal Das was in the hunt, till he drew with Ravi in the penultimate round. "I did not want to take risks in that game, as the position was a bit unclear," he said after the draw on the top board in the eighth round. "It would have been nice to win the championship, but I am happy with my second placing here."
Neelotpal showed great character by bouncing back after his shocking loss to the Kerala lad K. Ratnakaran, one of the fastest improving players in the country, in the second round. That was his only loss, as he went on to score seven points to tie for the first place with Ravi. He was thus able to share the prize-money (he got Rs. 21,250, as did Ravi). The players had agreed in the players' meeting on the eve of the tournament to share the money in the event of ties. "I lost about Rs. 4,000 because of this chap," joked Ravi, whose progressive score of 38 - by far the best in the competition - helped him finish ahead, during the closing ceremony.
Venkatesh and S. Satyapragyan of Indian Airlines tied for the third spot, but the former had a better progressive score by 2.5 points. The Chennai youngster was one of the most impressive performers in the tournament, and for once, he was able to finish strongly. Normally he would mess up things in the latter stages of an event, after beginning well. He has the talent no doubt, and he should do well in the future, with hard work and better temperament. "This was one of my better performances of late," said Venkatesh, who had played well at the Asian junior championship in Teheran recently, but was unlucky to finish without a medal.
Ratnakaran had won a medal in that championship. The 20-year-old had sprung a big surprise in Iran when he won the bronze ahead of many fancied rivals, including those from his own country. The Kozhikode lad, for whom life has been a struggle against adverse circumstances (he lost his father in the most tragic circumstances and finds it difficult to organise finance to play in tournaments), did well once again. He registered his best ever performance in a senior competition, finishing sixth.
This youngster who deserves some help should emerge as an even better player after a training session with highly acclaimed Russian coach, Alexander Lyssenko, now in progress in his home town. Many senior players were impressed by his show. "I think it's remarkable that he is playing so well, in spite of the limited opportunities he has. In a city like Chennai, there's a chess culture, which is sadly lacking in Kerala," said Koshy.
Alex Thomas, a 32-year-old school teacher from the hilly Wayanad, made it a memorable event for Kerala when he gatecrashed into the top 10. He was the biggest surprise of the event. Thanks to a splendid final day, he shocked sixth seed T. S. Ravi of PSCB, who had an eminently forgettable tournament, and nearly shocked Bakre, he finished eighth. He offered a draw from a winning position to Bakre in the final round. "I was a bit perplexed, but I accepted it nevertheless," the top seed said later.
"Yes, I should have won that game," Alex rued, "but I thought it should be wiser to get half-a-point, rather than go for a win with little time left on the clock." His problem, like that of all Kerala players, is lack of preparation, but he is fairly good when it comes to tactics.
Ram S. Krishnan, another schoolboy from Chennai, also did well to get a placing much higher than his seeding. The 24th seed took the seventh place, taking on the higher-rated players with confidence. Konguvel, also from Chennai, disappointed though. The fifth seed finished ninth in the end, but did not look in command. As the 28-year-old PSCB player said, "You can never expect much from a rapid tournament."
Sadly none of the Indian GMs played at Tirur. Krishnan Sasikiran, Pendyala Harikrishna, Abhijit Kunte, Pravin Thipsay and Dibyendu Barua stayed away, for a variety of reasons. There was, however, plenty of excitement in the tournament.
The placings (nine rounds): 1-2. Lanka Ravi (PSCB 2389) & Neelotpal Das (GNCA 2379) 7; 3-4. M. R. Venkatesh (Capa Chess Academy, Chennai 2356) & S. Satyapragyan (IA 2360) 6.5; 5-10. Tejas Bakre (IA 2462), K. Ratnakaran (Ker 2258), Ram S. Krishnan (TN 2252), Alex Thomas (Ker 2252), P. Konguvel (PSCB 2371) and R. R. Laxman (TN 2256) 6; 11-15. Varughese Koshy (PSCB 2357), Jayant Gokhale (PSCB 2359), S. Satyakam (Ori 2122), T. S. Ravi (PSCB 2370) and Santosh Kumar Sinha (Bih 2220) 5.5; 16-21. N. Sudhakar Babu (IB 2379), T. S. Venkataraman (Goa 2255), Ebenezer Joseph (P & T 2214), R. S. Gupta (Cha 2260), Karun Duggal (Del 2097) and Ravi Kumar (Cha 2259) 5; 22-26. G.B. Joshi (IA 2256), Yogesh Gore (Cha 2222), S. Mariarul (Chromepet Chess Academy, Chennai 2249), C.S. Gokhale (IA 2353) and Rohit Kadam (Goa 0000) 4.5; 27-34. Rahul Shetty (IA 2336), Praful Mehta (Guj 2192), Kandi Ravi (AP 2056), A. K. Patnakar (Goa 0000), Dinesh Kumar (T'Nagar Chess Academy, Chennai) 2094), E. P. Nirmal (Ker 2084), K. Abhimod (Ker 2018) and Aswin Shroff (Guj 0000) 4; 35-37. P. A. Mohammed Favas (Ker 0000), F. A. Ashfaq (Chennai Chess Academy 2037) and Sanjay Ramadas (Goa 0000) 3.5; 38-46. George K. Samuel (Ker 0000), V. Hari Balu (CCA 0000), Abhash Kumar (NLM, Bihar 0000), Jowner Rasheed (J & K 0000), P. A. Fajara (Ker 0000), K. Darsan (Ker 0000), Sabu Jacob (Ker 0000), Moseen Moneer (J & K 0000) and M. Karthika (Ker 0000) 3.
'I enjoy the rapid version'LANKA RAVI was in top form when he came to Tirur. In August he had finished fourth in the Commonwealth championship in London. That was one of his better performances in recent times.
The last week of September saw his best performance for quite a while, when he won the National rapid championship rather convincingly. It was also his first ever National title.
He took to the game when he was 15. "Of course that is a pretty late beginning by today's standards," he said. At that age Pendyala Harikrishna, who was at Ravi's house in Chennai for about eight months in the formative years of his career, became a Grandmaster.
Ravi, who was born in Vijayawada, was attracted to the game watching his uncle and neighbour play. "The first turning point was when I joined Sidharatha College for my Plus Two," he recalled. "That is the only college in Vijayawada which encourages its students to participate in sporting competitions. With the support from my college, I started to play in various tournaments. I am also indebted to V.G.K. Murthy, who helped me a lot in my career."
Ravi made a mark when he qualified for the National 'A' championship from the National 'B' at Tenali in 1984. Two years later, he made it to the Indian team for the chess Olympiad in Dubai. "That 1986 Olympiad was the best-conducted of all Olympiads, and I enjoyed the experience."
In 1987 he came second in the Asian zonal championship in Doha and got his IM title, at the age of 25. "I was very happy when I became an IM; there were not many IMs at that time. I think I was India's 12th IM."
Ravi played his second Olympiad in 1992 in Manila. "After that I have not been able to do as well as I should have," he said. "There were some tragedies in my family that affected me badly psychologically. My brother-in-law died of cancer and my niece too succumbed to cancer."
Ravi was among the favourites for the championship at Tirur, because he is one of India's better players in the rapid version of the game. He had won the Asian rapid championship in Doha in 1991, and has been doing well in inter-institutional rapid tournaments consistently. "I enjoy rapid chess," he said.
This triumph has come at the right time for him. "I've always believed that I had it in me to be a GM, though the players of my generation never could dream of the opportunities today's kids have," he said. "The victory here has made me more confident in my abilities to do well, and I am now planning to play in some tournaments abroad to hunt for GM norms."
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