Year 2014 has been eventful so far to 27-year-old Venkata Krishna Karthik, a city chess player down with a peculiar orthopaedic complication, for he won gold medal at the Commonwealth chess championship at Glasgow (Scotland) recently and now he took off to Banja Junakovic Apatin at Serbia to participate in the 14th International Physically Challenged Association’s World Individual Chess Championship which begins from September 15.
Karthik’s dream to participate in the event was made possible owing to a timely gesture by UK-based ARKS Group, which is on a mission to empower the underprivileged meritorious people. The group sponsors educational expenses of students with excellent academic credentials.
ARKS Group’s Rakesh Attluri handed over a cheque for Rs. 3 lakh to Karthik at Hyderabad on Sunday enabling him to leave for Serbia along with his coach Shaik Khasim of Global Chess Academy.
Warm send offARKS Group officers, parents of students of Global Chess Academy and parents of Karthik gave the duo a warm send off at the Rajiv Gandhi International airport. “I am very happy for Karthik, who despite hardships and physical discomfiture such as blurred vision in the right eye is keen to make a mark in chess, a game which he loves the most. A good result will help him get a job to settle down. I thank the sponsors for their timely help,” said Mr. Khasim before departure.
He also expressed his gratitude to the president of International Physically Challenged Chess Association for inviting Karthik to the tournament and All India Chess Federation APCA Adhoc Committee for their moral support.
A total 36 players including International Masters and FIDE Masters from 15 countries are participating in this tournament in which Karthik is seeded the 19th player.
