The Hindu : Sport / Chess : `Magnificent concept, meticulously executed'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005

Sport

Sport - Chess

`Magnificent concept, meticulously executed'

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Initiating young minds into the path of excellence in academics as well as sports is the theme of NIIT MindChampions' Academy 2005 National school chess tournament which commenced here on Monday.

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, gave a symbolic start to the tournament by moving a white pawn and the NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand responded with a black pawn.

Describing the Academy as "magnificent in concept and meticulously executed," Mr. Ram said that the NIIT programme was a model for other fields as the quest for excellence was laced with easy accessibility. It was impressive to see so many students and schools, spread across several States, linked to the exercise of popularising chess and helping to build competitive spirit in young minds, he added.

According to Mr. Ram, NIIT could not have had a better brand ambassador than Anand, who, with his stunning achievements, has singlehandedly transformed the chess scenario in the country. His awe-inspiring performances were also a reason for chess getting a significant play in the media, he said.

Earlier, welcoming the gathering, L. Balasubramaniam, President NIIT-K12 Business, said that the Academy — a joint venture of NIIT and Anand launched last year in order to expose students in the age-group of six to 15 to chess — saw over 50,000 players from 1,650 schools taking part in the National tournament's previous edition.

Spreading its wings

This year, Mr. Balasubramaniam said that the Academy would spread its wings to Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya. Having NIIT's presence in over 2,500 schools and touching the lives of over a million students are the objectives of this programme.

On behalf of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, Member Secretary P.W.C. Davidar said that chess was the latest addition to the list of disciplines in the State School Games. He felt that this would result in every school getting involved in the sport and develop a 1,00,000 player-base soon.

Anand, just back from winning the Leon rapid title beating FIDE World champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov, expressed happiness over the way the NIIT school programme was proceeding. To the young audience he pointed out that it was essential to enjoy the game and the results will follow.

"I started by losing three games and my first win came through a `walkover,'" Anand said in a lighter vein, adding that it never played on his mind.

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