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On a checkmating spree

Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

Pride of home Harika with her mother after one of her several victories in a series

A special moment in the life of any sportsperson, pursuing his or her chosen sport or game, is the recognition by the Government of India with the coveted Arjuna award and receiving it from the hands of the President of India.

Guntur-born Dronavalli Harika, a Woman Grand Master in chess, is one such outstanding sportsperson, who was chosen for the honour for her exploits in the game of sixty-four squares.

That the honour is bestowed on her when she is all of 17, speaks volumes about the exceptional run by the maverick girl from the tobacco town. In the past few years, Andhra Pradesh State, especially its coastal belt, has produced a good number of chess players, who went on to take the world by storm with their natural instincts.

Teenagers Pendiyala Harikrishna and Koneru Humpy took the lead by inspiring dozens of players to take the plunge into chess with singular dedication and Harika is among them.

The girl with a boy-cut was the cynosure of critics in her formative days, as she went on to win many national and international titles. Harika learned the moves of the game from her father D. Ramesh, an executive engineer in the Panchayat Raj department, at the age of eight. But her big moment came when she acquired the status of Woman Grand Master and bagged the World Under-16 title.

“Harika is basically an aggressive player and very sound in her middle and end games. Gifted with loads of confidence, she is extremely fearless. The hallmark of this girl is her dedication and her bold attitude is a boon to her coaches who find it easy to mould her game based on the moves of her rivals,” says B. Venkateswara Rao, former secretary of Andhra Pradesh Chess Association.

Harika’s career graph is yet another plus point. “Many top players face ups and downs in their career. The lean period, however, helps them prepare well for future. In case of Harika, she barely faced any major setback in her career except last year’s World Junior championship, where she lost despite being in the lead,” says Rao.

This year;s Olympiad will be crucial for Harika, as she will be spearheading India with Koneru Humpy deciding to skip the tournament.

Since last eight years, Harika has been literally ruling the roost in the National, Asian and Commonwealth tournaments. “The best is yet to come from this teenager. She can become Men’s Grand Master next year and in another four years, the world’s women champion,” opines Sk. Khasim of Global Chess Academy.

With Airport Authority of India extending financial support, Harika, with the unflinching support of her parents Ramesh and Swarna and committed coach Rama Raju to guide her, looks all set to cross many milestones in the game for the mind matters.

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