Down the narrow Govinda Konar Street at Sangliyandapuram, Tiruchi, and up three flights of stairs in this 1950s-era residence, sits a school built on a dream. The 4 Knights Chess Academy is not in session when we visit, but its secretary and chief dreamer B. Dhenagaran, has lots to share about his foray into the world of competitive chess.
Started by Dhenagaran, with his friends G. Justin Brierly, V. Muthukumar and R. Bala Subramanian (the other ‘knights’ of the academy), in the 1990s, the institution is reaching out to at least 300 students in the city’s private schools, besides children from the locality.
Chennai may indeed be grabbing headlines in this sport with its game-friendly schools and champions, but smaller cities like Tiruchi are also going through a revival of interest, says Dhenagaran. The Trichy District Chess Association lists 167 FIDE-rated players in the region, and has 19 chess-certified schools, besides an association for the physically challenged. Coaches like Dhenagaran have their calendars full with sessions in mainstream curriculum schools throughout the week, besides giving personal tuitions.
“Indians seem to be hard-wired for chess,” says Dhenagaran, as he tries to explain the soaring popularity of the game that is thought to have originated in India. “Just like gully cricket, there’s a street version of chess that most kids play outside the competitive circuit, even if the rules are all wrong.”
Early bird
Dhenagaran began playing chess at the age of 16 (quite late by today’s standards) as opposed to today where it is not unusual for kindergarteners to start off with basic lessons. “I learned through trial and error, mostly by reading newspaper columns and The Road to Chess Mastery by Max Euwe and Walter Meiden. These days, you get all kinds of online resource materials to help with training,” he says, adding that most parents initially opt for chess to keep their children out of mischief.
That certainly was the case for L.N. Ram Aravind, a holder of 11 titles, notable among them being the 2012 National Under-9 Chess Championship, 2011 Asian Under-8 (gold medal), and the 2011 World Under-8 chess (silver medal). The 13-year-old started training at the age of 4.5 years. He started playing competitively from 2009 at the age of 6.5 years. With his mother Muthu Nagappan by his side, Ram has visited 10 countries, besides representing India 5 times in the World Youth and Asian Youth championships. But the prodigy has decided to bow out of competitive chess this year to complete his education. Ram sounds wise beyond his years when he says, “I cannot leave my family and education just for chess.”
Winning attitude
For 29-year-old Jennitha Anto, a Tiruchi-based gold medallist at the Women’s World Chess Champion of the disabled, chess was a way to soar above physical challenges. Her father, a retired headmaster and a college-level chess player, G. Kanickai Irudayaraj, felt that the game of strategy was something that his youngest daughter, who lost the use of her legs and right hand, to polio, at the age of three, could master.
“Jenni was eight when she started training. She has won the men’s section match in Tiruchi District Chess Association tournament twice, in 2005 and 2006.”
Being a person with disability only added to the uphill struggle in the early days. “Travelling to play in contests or coaching is expensive,” says Irudayaraj, who until very recently, used to physically carry his daughter to all the competition venues. While he was able to meet the cost of Jennitha’s foreign tours by dipping into his retirement savings, and was helped later by the State government, the Sports Authority of India and the All India Chess Federation, Irudayaraj says it is quite difficult to play professionally without a sponsor.
The next move?
A landmark study by J.P. Smith and B.N. Cage in 2000 proved that 120 hours of chess improved the mathematical skills and non-verbal cognitive ability among rural African-American children in Louisiana, United States.
What is the effect on Indian parents who find themselves with a minor celebrity on the contest circuit?
“The initial impact of a loss is only at the venue,” says Muthu Nagappan. “Once Ram is home, we treat him like any other child. It can be difficult for shy children, but luckily our son is very sociable. We also send him to badminton classes to keep him physically fit.”
Says veteran coach N. Venkatraman, “We always ask parents to take it slow so that their child can learn how to face defeat.” His Srirangam-based Cauvery Chess Academy has trained over 5,000 students (including Ram Aravind) since the 1980s. “Parents should not reprimand the child when he or she loses a competition or taunt them about the money they are spending on their training. They can’t expect their child to win every contest.”
Coaching need not be the only post-retirement option for accomplished chess players. Being a playing partner for a top-rung player, or a ‘second’, who helps the star player shape his game strategy, for instance, are some of the other job opportunities in this field.
“There are many children who study chess but don’t compete,” says Dhenagaran of 4 Knights Chess Academy. “The time is right for chess to be taught as a subject in schools, rather than an extra-curricular activity. You have to love chess in order to excel in it.”
