Kerala - Kochi   

Aiming for the IM norm

One of the biggest mysteries of Indian sport is Kerala's failure to produce quality players in chess.

In the most cerebral of all sports, Kerala, with people perhaps as intelligent as any other State and more literate than any other, is still waiting for its first International Master (IM), while States like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal produce titled players just about every other week. And till not so long ago, Kozhikode used to be the capital of Indian chess and there was no shortage of national and international tournaments in the State.

K. Ratnakaran, the Kozhikode-based Southern Railway employee, remains the best bet to set the State's record straight. He already has one IM norm - he needs two more - and has crossed 2,400 Elo points in international rating (one of the requirements to get the title).

Last Monday, the 24-year-old added to his reputation when he won the Ranjit Patkar All-India Open at Karwar, Karnataka. It was quite an achievement, for he finished first in a tournament that had one Grandmaster (GM) and a dozen or so IMs. He was not, by any stretch of imagination, the favourite to take the title. Neelotpal Das, the top seed from Kolkata, was. But the talented player from West Bengal had to be content with second place as Ratnakaran came up with a stunning display. "This is indeed one of the best performances of my career," he says.

The highlight of Ratnakaran's career is the bronze medal he won at the Asian junior meet in Teheran in 2001. It was the first medal for a Kerala player in an official international chess tournament. The same year he finished third in the national juniors and in 2002, he was the runner-up in the national youth meet. His notable victories include the All-India Open at Karaikudi (Tamil Nadu) in 2002 and the B.C. Cochin tournament in 2004. At the State-level, he cherishes the State rapid championship last year, when he won all his nine games to finish with 100 per cent score, a rarity at any level in chess.

His ambition is to complete his IM title. "I want to do it as soon as possible," he says. "And I need to play in as many norm tournaments as possible for this. I'm planning to play in Europe where you have back-to-back events. One needs at least Rs.80,000 for playing in a country like Spain, and I know it will be tough for me to raise such a huge amount, but I guess I have no other option."

P.K. AJITH KUMAR

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