The big match boon for budding youngsters

"This opportunity has given me the confidence to play more open tournaments. I also got a chance to see Anand and Carlsen at close quarters," says Srija The conduct of the world chess championship between Anand and Carlsen has salvaged the country's pride. More importantly, the match set off a chess wave in the country.

Organising the C o m m o n w e a l t h Games in 2010 dented India’s already tenuous reputation in the international arena. Some critics even wondered whether the country should bid to host global events in sports. But the conduct of the world chess championship between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen has salvaged the country’s pride.

More importantly, the match set off a wave of chess awareness in the country. The Tamil Nadu government deserves credit for sponsoring the event. “Ram was overjoyed to meet top chess players in the country. He was also happy that he got an opportunity to shake hands with his idol Carlsen,” said Muthu Nagappan, mother of Ram Aravind, an Asian champion from Tiruchy.

The class six boy represented his district in the CM’s trophy t o u r n a m e n t , which was conducted on the sidelines of thers in the country. He was also happy that he got an opportu nity to shake hands with his idol Carlsen,“ said Muthu Nagappan, mother of Ram Aravind, an Asian champi on from Tiruchy . from Tiruchy .

The class six boy repre sented his district in the CM's trophy tournament, which was con ducted on the sidelines of t h e Anand-Carlsen match. Ram, who had defeated Carlsen in the world no’1 simultaneous exhibition in Chennai before the worlds, was also interviewed by a Norwegian TV channel.

“He was asked to describe his feeling after beating the world no.1. Ram said he would surely challenge Carlsen for the world title in the next decade. The event has raised hopes of many chess players to strive for success,” she added. Neyveli teenager Srija Seshadri earned a sizeable amount for taking part in tournaments held during the championship.

She started with a below-average performance in the WGM tournament, but improved her show to win third place in the CM’s trophy and ended her campaign with another third place in the below 2100 elo rating tournament.

The Neyveli girl pocketed '50,000 for her third place in the CM’s trophy and another '20,000 for third place in the rating event. “It was for the first time that I got to play three big events at a stretch. This opportunity has given me the confidence to play more open tournaments. I also got a chance to visit the world championship venue and see Anand and Carlsen at close quarters,” said Srija, who is studying in class 11 at Jawahar Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Neyveli.

The former Asian U-14 champion also relished the experience of carrying the flag and escorting Anand to the stage during the opening ceremony. For national sub-junior champion Gk. Monnisha, the WGM and GM tournaments were an opportunity to improve her chess. The Chennai girl won her second IWM norm from the GM tournament in which she scored 6/11.

“I was really lucky to get an opportunity to play two high profile tournaments in Chennai,” she added. If the state government, organisers and volunteers deserve credit for the successful conduct of the Anand-Carlsen match, spectators in Chennai should also be applauded for making the event a great success.

Ticket holders and those with visitor’s passes showcased exemplary behaviour at the venue throughout.

They acknowledged the local hero Anand by clapping for his opening moves but they didn’t trouble him thereafter.