Goa needs expert chess coaches

There is bright future for chess players in Goa provided there is more governmental support, parental help and expert coaching exposure.Ivana Maria Furtado, Bhakti Kulkarni, Anurag Mhamal, Pranav Zantye, Riya Sawant, Cyrus Pereira, Umang Kaisare, Anirudh Bhat are already doing exceedingly well among the younger lot, winning state championships with promising performances at national levels in their age-group categories. However, to make a mark at the higher level, be it international or national, the budding players will need the help of expert coaches who are not available in Goa.

Individual coaching is essential in chess to cater to particular style of the player. No two players adopt similar strategies. It is something like what happens in cricket where everyone cannot be a leg spinner or fast bowler. One has to respect and develop individual features and strong points of a player.Internet use, books and software is essential in chess and this is easily available today. What Goa needs now is expert coaches, who will have to be invited from elsewhere.

To make a mark at the top, one needs to earn Master, FIDE, International Master and Grand Master norms. The first step, however, is to obtain a rating, without which one cannot make it big in chess. Subsequently, exposure assumes great importance but this has to be necessarily at international level where international players participate. According to FIDE rules, there must be a presence of players from different countries in such events.A big international tournament in which 20 Grand Masters have already confirmed their participation is in offing in Mumbai from May 10 and Goan players have a great opportunity of making an appearance there.

Grand Masters can get job offers from Petroleum and Banking institutions. That apart, there is prize money and government incentives aplenty. For example, Sashikiran makes about Rs 20-25 lakh per year. Koneru Humpy is in the Rs 20-25 lakh bracket also while world champ V Anand is in the crore group. Besides, one is entitled for appearance money, the minimum being Rs 30,000 besides first class lodging, boarding and transportation.

Chess prospects in India are very bright. Remember in the last Asiad Games in Doha we won 3 gold. That’s very encouraging sign. We can do still better, as genius are not borne, but made. Hungarian chess wizard, psychologist Lazlo Polgar saw to it that his three daughters - Susan, Sofia and Judith - became chess greats (WGMs) with Judith retaining the number one position in the world for 15 years. Judith plays alongside men and has even defeated V Anand.

Category: Chess , Reviews