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Preview of National A in New Delhi, India
Strongest ever Indian National A draws no sponsor
V KRISHNASWAMY NEW DELHI, MAY 31:
It promises to be most exciting of all National A Chess Championships ever held in this country. And why not, for when have four Grandmasters played in an Indian championships. And add to them another two, who could be in that list soon in a matter of months.
Indian chess has National A and B meet. The top six of previous National along with top 14 of National qaulify for the subsequent National A in men's. In women it is top six of previous year plus eight top players from National B.
Viswanathan Anand, the finest of all Indian pawn pushers will not be here when the Nationals get underway in a small little hall tucked away in bylanes of Jhandewalan, a crowded commercial area. But this commercial atmosphere seems to have left Indian chess untouched for there will be no sponsor and the event goes, thanks to the grants that the Indian government hands to National meets and one benevolent chess lover, who lent the hall belonging to him.
It is in such environs that the reigning champion, Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte will defend the title he won from Krishnan Sasikiran, who a year before that had held the same National crown. In the year since he lost the National title, Sasikiran has made rapid strides and become only the second Indian to go past 2600 in rating and is now 2611. Further, the shy and serious Chennaite unabashedly admits that his goal is 2700.
Having finished third in the Olympic Young Masters chess tournament in Lausanne last week, the 20-year-old Sasikiran has put himself through a punishing schedule this year.
After the World championships last year in New Delhi, he has among others played tournaments in Jakarta, Colombo and Lausanne. And now comes the Nationals.
Unlike many other players, Sasikiran loves playing more tournaments. So much so, despite having qualified for the next World Championships _ by virtue having won the Asian Zonal event in Colombo _ Sasikiran has decided he will also play the Asian Continental Championships in Kolkatta in August. That meet in Kolkatta carries a total prize fund of US $ 64,000 with US $ 12,000 for the winner. Sure, the prize money is great, but for Sasikiran it is more competitive chess.
Meanwhile, Kunte and Sasikiran will be given a run for their money by the two 'senior' Grandmasters on the Indian scene, Pravin Thipsay and Dibyendu Barua. And they in turn are likely to be pressed hard by GM elect, GB Prakash, and 15-year-old Pentyala Harikrishna. Prakash needs to cross elo rating of 2500 to become the next GM. He already has fulfilled GM norm requirements. Harkrishna has two GM norms and needs one more.
The standard of the National A has risen to the extent that of the 20 players, only three are not Intenational Masters. Even those three Saptarishi Roy, a highly talented teenager, Sriram Jha and Nassir Wajih, all have IM norms.
Apart from four GMs, there are 13 IMs, surely a fine indication of the depth Indian chess now has in men's section.
The women's National A will also be held alongside the men's event. Despite missing the prodigiously talented Koneru Humpy, who did not play the National B and is now playing abroad, the field is very strong like men's section.
Apart from the defending champion, Subburaman Vijayalakshmi, the only Women's Grandmaster in India, the field of 14 has eight Women's International Masters.
For Vijayalakshmi, this tournament could well be the chance to redeem herself after a major failure in the Zonal in Colombo, where she finished fifth in the field and last among the five Indian women, who overall dominated the event.
Viji's sister, S Meenakshi is the second seed. But the player wanting to prove her ability will be Pallavi Shah, after her win in Colombo, which has earned her a berth in next World Knock Out Championships.
The eight WIMs are Meenakshi, Saheli Dhar Barua, Pallavi Shah, Swati Ghate, Aarthie Ramaswamy, former World Under-18 champion, Nisha Mohota, Bhagyashree Thipsay and Anupama Gokhale.
Yet all eyes will be on a 10-year-old, Dronavalli Harika, who became the youngest player to qualify for National A.
The opening day will have one round, and many of the subsequent days will see the players play two rounds. The time control will be under new FIDE rules of one hour 15 minutes for 40 moves and the game will be over in a maximum total of four hours.
The players: Men: GM Abhijit Kunte, GM K Sasikiran, GM D Barua, IM SS Ganguly, IM DV Prasad, IM P Harikrishna, GM P Thipsay, IM V Saravanan. IM Tejas Bakre, IM Neeloptal Das, IM Atanu Lahiri, IM K Muurgan, IM GB Prakash, IM Lanka Ravi, IM P Konguvel, IM Shekhar Sahu, Saptarishi Roy, Sriram Jhan, IM Neeraj Mishra, Nassir Wajih.
Women: WGM S Vijayalakshmi, WIM S Meenakshi, WIM Saheli Dhar, WIM WIM Pallavi Shah, WIM Swati Ghate, WIM Aarthie Ramaswamy, WIM Nisha Mohota, WIM Bhagyashree Thipsay, Y Pratibha, MR Sangeetha, Sameera Ravi, WIM Anupama Gokhale, D Harika and Dolan Champa Bose.
SMALL HALL AWAITS BIG TALENT IN INDIAN NATIONAL CHESS
V Krishnaswamy NEW DELHI, June 1:
It may not be the ideal place for the country's best chess players to engage in a battle that will decide the National title in both men's and women's section. But then chess players are used to being second cousins, so much so, there was only a light murmur when the venue, a Hall measuring less than 1000 square feet, in the middle of a crowded commerical complex was unveiled to the players. Needless to say, there are no sponsors and the event is being run courtesy, the National grant to federations.
The first day of competition will see two rounds, one each in the morning and evening. The morning session begins at 9 am and evening session at 4 pm. The venue, thanks to the "eventspecific", an advertising company based at, 2E/23, Jhandewalan Extension will be the venue where India's top 33 players _ 19 in men and 14 women _ play for the National A crowns in men's and women's section over the next two weeks.
The Championships were formally inaugurated at the Hotel Intercontinental Chief Union Labour Minister Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya. Also present at the ceremony were Dhruv Mohan Sawhney, President AICF, P.T.Ummer Koya, who doubles up as the FIDE Vice-President and Secretary All India Chess Federation and R K Shukla, Secretary, Delhi Chess Association.
The championships received a minor setback when Tejas Bakre, 21-year-old talented player, who won the National B and qualified for the the National A, pulled out as he is down with hepatitis. He has been hospitalised with jaundice.
As a result the 20-player field has come down to 19 and one player will have a bye each day. In the women's section, all players have confirmed their participation. M R Sangeetha, will however arrive two days late. The chief arbiter, Bharat Singh Chauhan, has allowed her to play the first two rounds on the first rest day, June 7.
The field assembled here for the two sections is the strongest in the history of Indian chess. With four Grandmasters and 12 International Masters, the 19-man field has only three players who are untitled. And even those, Sriram Jha, Nassir Wajih and Saptarishi Roy are strong enough to merit an IM title in the near future.
The four GMs in the fray are led by Krishnan Sasikiran, India's no 2 and rated at 2611, the only player above the 2600 mark. Abhijit Kunte, the defending champion, Dibyendu Barua, Pravin Thipsay and GB Prakash, who after attaining three GM norms is now waiting for rating to cross 2500.
Two other GM norm holders, D V Prasad and Pentyala Haikrishna, are also strong contenders. The Women’s section will see Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi attempt to wipe out the horrid memories of a disastrous campaign in Colombo, where she finished worst of the five Indian women. At the same time, it will be an ideal opportunity for Pallavi Shah to prove her Colombo win was no flash in the pan.
Giving this duo a tough time should be the likes of IWM Swati Ghate, IWM Nisha Mohota, Saheli Dhar Barua and the veteran pair, IWM Bhagyashree Thipsay and Anupama Gokhale.
There will be 19 rounds in the men’s section and 14 in women’s. On six days, the players will have to go through two rounds, one each in the morning and evening. The women will however play only one round a day. The final rounds are scheduled for June 15. In the absence of digital clocks to add 30 seconds for each under the Fischer clock, the organiers have decided to adopt the rule of one hour 30 minutes for the first 40 moves minutes. The remaining moves will have to played out in the half hour sudden death.
New Pairings round 1: Men:
S C Sahu v K Sasikiran; K Murugan v P Konguvel; P Harikrishna v Atanu Lahiri; Nassir Wajihv N K Mishra; Lanka Ravi v D V Prasad; S S Ganguly v G B Prakash; S R Chowdhry v Sriram Jha; P M Thipsay v D Barua; Abhijit Kunte v V Saravanan; Neelotpal Das Bye
Women: Anupama Gokhale v Dronavalli Harika; Y Pratibha v Pallavi Shah; Dolan Champa Bose v S Meenakshi; S Vijayalakshmi v Nisha Mohota; Swati Ghate v B P Thipsay; A Ramaswamy v Saheli Barua; Saimeera Ravi v M R Sangeetha.
All material © Mark Crowther
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