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Master of the game

Photo: Sampath Kumar g.p.

Idol talk Ashwin Jayaram: Vishy Anand is a big inspiration’

Ashwin Jayaram quit school when he was in seventh standard to pursue his love of chess. That has indeed stood in good stead as he made his way to the top. “Vishy Anand was a big inspiration and I dream of the day, I could beat him,” says Ashwin, who received his trophy from Anand after his triumph in the Asian Junior championship held in Chennai recently.

The Chennai championship saw the 18-year-old finish on par with National champion Lalith Babu, with both logging 7.5 points in nine rounds. But the tie-breaker smiled on Ashwin, who was adjudged the champion, thanks to his better quotient. It was justice for Ashwin as he had lost the title in a tie-breaker in the last Asian championship.

Looking back at the event, Ashwin, says “I took quite a few chances and kept my lead.” The victory puts Ashwin on road to GM title, as he has obtained two GM norms at Chennai and in Spain (2007) and he needs one more to be declared Grand Master. He has an ELO rating of 2,437 and if he crosses 2,500, which is a distinct possibility now, Ashwin would realise one of his major goals. He finished fourth line the last junior National championship and had his taste of international exposure as he had played in the World Youth (under-18) championship in Vietnam and World Youth (under-16 ) event in Georgia, besides other international tournaments in Denmark and Spain. In Georgia, he began the game as six years ago, playing with his cousin and soon got hooked to it. His early mentors were Grand Master Manuel Aaron, D. Ganesh and G. B. Prakash at Chess Mate Academy in Chennai. “They gave me ample guidance during my formative stage and I am very grateful to them,” says the affable youngster. Ashwin plays strong opening and a good defence.

His parents’ fears that he might forsake academics for chess, were set to rest when the family moved to Bangalore and Ashwin was given admission to PUC by Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, through sports quota.

“Chenraj Jain was gracious enough to help Ashwin continue his studies and play chess,” says his father Jayaram. Where does Ashwin go from here ? “I want to get my GM title as quickly as possible and aim for higher level, such as super GM and play world-class events,” says the new Asia Junior Champion.

But to get ahead that far, in double quick time, Ashwin needs exposure to major international tournaments and sparring with top trainers abroad, who come with a fancy price tag. “So far, he has trained mostly on his own, and keeps improving by reading literature , downloaded from Net and yet that alone is not sufficient. He needs hands-on training with foreign experts and of course, he needs to play lot of tournaments,” says Jayaram, who works with Honeywell Tech Labs in the city.

The family have backed their prodigious son and Ashwin’s mother Meena, who was a software engineer, even quit her job to be able to travel with him and take care of his needs.

“We have made our sacrifices and Ashwin is determined to walk in Vishy Anand’s footsteps. What we need is sponsor to support him,” says his father .

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