Pawns of fate, Anand's heirs can only dream of their grand opening

Pawns of fate, Anand's heirs can only dream of their grand opening
ARCHIMAN BHADURI

AHMEDABAD, JANUARY 4: When Vishwanathan Anand was winning the World Chess Championship in Teheran recently, 298 children -- many of them yet to enter double figures -- were competing at the National Children's Chess Championship here. The distance wasn't much in geographical terms; in every other way, the distance couldn't have been greater.

The good news from the tournament was the diversity of talent: The South was richly represented, as could be expected, but there were winners from Bihar, Rajasthan and even Manipur. The bad news? Given the low priority chess holds in these states, there's little to suggest that these winners have any future.

Winning the world championship made Anand richer by $660,000; enough, perhaps, to take care of all the participants at the national meet for one year. Parents and guardians say the cost of bringing up a chess player is between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh every year. This includes coaches' charges (mostly Rs 100 per sitting), tournament appearance money, books and other periodicals and travel allowance. It's not a small sum of money and it's not easy to find.

That's why there seems little hope ahead for Manipur's T Gobin, who set the boards on fire in the Under-9 category. After he won the title, his father was all smiles, proud that the youngster had picked up the skills from his grandfather. But there's the underlying threat that this is the end of the road. ``I am a government servant. I have barely managed to keep a coach for Gobin for the past three months. Though I know a computer is very essential now, I don't think I can afford it.''

Gobin has been state champion in his category for the past four years, but the Manipur government has not come forward with any financial help. At best, he can hope for the return train fare to championship venues.

Last year, he played only two national-level championships. His father knows this isn't enough, but he shrugs his shoulders in helplessness. ``See, it took five days for us to reach here. Both his studies and my office work have suffered. Participating in more tournaments means I have to give up more time, for which I have to go without pay.''

So is there any future? ``In Manipur, most sportsmen make do with the help of relatives and friends. When Dingko Singh wanted to take part in a tournament, people would pass the hat around. That is our tradition, that is how we hope to get by,'' Gobin's father says.

Coaches at the tournament were unanimous that there is tremendous potential among the youth; the problem is getting match practice and, consequently, exposure to different styles of the game. ``We are aware of what is needed, but we can't force anything on the parents because we know what the ground realities are,'' said one coach.

He could be talking about Under-9 Boys' star P Navneet, from cricket-crazy Rajasthan. Chess is almost unheard of there and no age-category chess tournaments are held. Navneet's father (also his coach) is a primary teacher in Barmer. When he found Navneet to have some potential, he approached the district magistrate, a local bank and some businessmen for help. That wasn't enough, so he took out a loan and bought a computer. He's still repaying the loan. And whenever they visit a big city, he makes it a point to pick up books, magazines and CDs on chess.

It can't, obviously, go on too long this way. Navneet's father is worried about the future, though for a slightly different reason. ``I can somehow carry on now by making sacrifices. But my fear is that when he grows up he'll begin to understand the financial strain which we had gone through and may feel guilty. I don't know if he will quit the game then.''

Kumar Gaurav's case is no different. The boy from Bihar was a star in the Under-7 category but his future is equally grim. There is little time for chess in Bihar, say his family members, and no one has any money to spare.

The only help, say the parents, comes from the Sports Authority of India, which organises camps and gives free coaching. These camps are popular because they are free: there's no entrance fee, the contestants are put up by the SAI.

The South, as can be expected, has a happier story to tell. Awareness about the game is high, and Anand's success has received maximum media coverage.

So when the father of P L Sahiti -- who won the Under-7 girls' title -- says money is a problem, he doesn't mean the future is dark. Sahiti is from Andhra Pradesh; there's a strong possibility that if she keeps winning, sponsorship will come her way.

Sahiti's father points to Wipro's sponsorship of wunderkind Harikrishna.NIIT and Bank of Baroda, he says, are others who are showing an interest in this.

And even without corporate involvement, chess is institutionalised. So C H Savetha says proudly that in her native Chennai, the Madras Chess Academy lends help to those in need, from coaching to finance.

For Gobin, Navneet and Kumar Gaurav, that's a luxury they can't even dream of.