Meeting all time chess greats
JAIDEEP SHENOY
|
This was an opportunity to meet the stars of the chess world.
|
Photo: R. Eswarraj
Chequered moves: The Mangalore FIDE rated All India Open Chess Tournament held recently.
When the diminutive figure of Akash P.C. Iyer from Chennai shyly approached the tall strapping Praveen M. Thipsay for an autograph, one could say it looked like David meeting Goliath. The only twist in this story was that Goliath did not challenge David to a duel and duly obliged his fan with not only an autograph, but also posed for a photograph with him. Akash’s mother captured the moment for the family album.
These scenes were common at the recently concluded Mangalore FIDE rated all India Open Chess tournament where the young and the not so old were all flocking to meet India’s third Grandmaster Thipsay. While it was an opportunity for youngsters such as Akash to meet their hero, talk to him and learn some tips about the game, for Thipsay’s grown up fans, it was an opportunity to be seen and photographed with this legend.
Star struck
Soaking in this all-round adulation, Thipsay utilised a majority of the final day of the tournament to meet his admirers. Not surprisingly, most of them were children, learning the ropes of the game and who probably would not have even been born when this seven time national champion bagged his first national title. He even had an exclusive interaction meeting with chess aficionados a day after the tournament ended.
While admitting frankly that he did not have too much interaction with the other players while the tournament was on, Thipsay said he had the opportunity to watch some of the games played by upcoming players such as Viani D’ Cunha of Mangalore, and world age-group champion Girish Kaushik of Mysore on the adjacent tables. The promise shown by these youngsters augurs well for the game in general, Thipsay notes. Observing that the children have access to a lot of information on the game on the Internet compared to the days when he started playing the game, Thipsay opined that it is important for children and their mentors to be able to use this data wisely. An abundance of data too can prove to be a major problem if one is not able to sift the grain from the chaff. Children should be guided in this regard, he adds. International Atanu Lahiri of West Bengal echoes the observations of Thipsay when he points that the participation of a large number of children in the tournament augurs well for the game. However, their over enthusiasm can sometimes prove to be a major distraction especially for players on the top boards, he notes. However, children would pick up tournament playing skills and decorum as they progress in life, he adds.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
