The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Remarkable show by Niji

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Friday, Oct 12, 2007
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Remarkable show by Niji

Principal Correspondent

A draw in the final round would have given her the title
Niji is rated with 1925 Elo points

— Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

A. Niji.

KOZHIKODE: It was quite a Cinderella story in Chennai for A. Niji.

The little-known girl from Kozhikode stunned her much stronger rivals on her way to a remarkable performance in the National sub-junior chess championship, which she nearly won.

She tied for the title, and finished runner-up in the end.

A draw in the final round would have given her the title, but she lost to Maharashtra’s Shalmali Gagare, the eventual champion.

“I was pretty tense going to the last round,” Niji told The Hindu here on Thursday, a few hours after her return from Chennai.

“Though I felt pretty upset after my loss, I am actually glad that I could get the second place in a strong tournament like this; I never expected it.”

The sterling show has earned the 15-year-old as many as three air tickets. She has qualified to represent India at the World and Asian championship as well as the Youth Olympiad.

“I had worked hard for this tournament, taking a week’s leave from my school, as this was my last chance in this age-group,” Niji, a Plus One student at Savio HSS, Kozhikode, said.

“This is my best ever performance.”

Indeed. At the National sub-juniors last year, she was placed 55th. But, then, three years ago, she hadn’t even learnt how to play the game. And most kids begin playing chess these days when they are just four or five.

She became interested after watching her uncle play at home and played her first tournament after seeing a newspaper report about a district tournament in Kozhikode.

She won her maiden State title last year, the under-17, and this year she won the State sub-junior title.

Creditably, she finished runner-up at this year’s State sub-junior boys’ meet.

“For somebody who made her first move so late, finishing runner-up at the National sub-junior championship is truly an amazing effort,” O.T. Anilkumar, her coach, said.

“She is a natural, and is focussed. Middle-game is her strength, and she handles the ending fairly well, too. She looks extremely promising, but she needs some financial assistance, which will enable her to play in more tournaments,” he added.

Niji, who was seeded 16th in Chennai, is rated with 1925 Elo points at the moment. Her rating would be lot higher in FIDE’s next rating list, to be released in January.

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