Say chess: The stars of Karnataka's chess arena

Having produced a fourth GM and two junior world champs in recent weeks, the state of chess in Karnataka has never looked brighter

Charvi Anilkumar

Pranav Anand

Charvi Anilkumar

For the longest of times, Karnataka admired with envy the success their neighbours - Tamil Nadu, the undivided Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra - tasted in chess. Even as these states regularly rolled out International Masters (IM) and Grandmasters (GM), Karnataka struggled to have proper structure in place to nurture the limited talent.

After years of earnest efforts by a few former players, however, Karnataka are finally making their presence felt in the sport that is growing in the popularity charts. The seeds planted about 15 years ago - after over a decade of inactivity - have now started bearing fruits in the form of youngsters such as Pranav Anand, Charvi Anilkumar who annexed the world boys’ under-16 and girls’ under-8 championship titles respectively in September. A day before he won the U-16 title, Pranav had become Karnataka’s fourth GM having accumulated the requisite rating points.

When the chess scene in the State during the late 80s and early 90s was beginning to blossom with DV Prasad having become Karnataka’s first International Master in 1987, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) banned the State unit for financial misappropriation while hosting a tournament in the late 90s, derailing its growth.

With upcoming players suffering due to administrative hurdles, the sport was facing a slow death in the State when a team of former players - headed by R Hanumantha, Aravinda Shastry and N Sanjay - took the responsibility of rescuing chess. The trio formed the United Karnataka Chess Federation (UKCF) in 2007 and the new body earned the affiliation of the AICF as well.

The first step was to conduct tournaments regularly and rope in sponsors for prize money. The then UKCF secretary Hanumantha and his team were successful in doing that to revive the interest among players and attract more enthusiasts to take up the game. From 51 rated players when UKCF first came together, the federation, with mostly former players as administrators, contributed in swelling that number to 1900, and growing.

“We had to begin from scratch. Now we conduct a minimum 150-200 tournaments in a year across the State,” says Shastry, secretary of the Karnataka State Chess Association which remained UKCF until 2021.

“Parents and their families have played a huge role. By not abandoning us or their children’s dreams, they gave the chess community here a big boost. Several schools including chess in their curriculum has paid dividends too,” he adds.

Eight-year-old Charvi is the best example of this development. The eight-year-old was first drawn to chess as a 4-year-old bystander, watching her seniors at school trying to outwit each other on the checkerboard.

Talking of families being the backbone for promising players, it was Pranav’s grandmother, Suvarna, who was his guardian and travel partner across the State and later around the world.

“When we realised my grandson’s interest in chess, we as a family decided to do everything in our strength to support him,” says Suvarna, a retired Syndicate Bank manager.

“Since his parents were both working, I took over. We have traveled to every nook and corner of Karnataka besides visiting 15-20 countries for tournaments,” she recollects.

The first sign of success of a robust system in place came from 2008 onwards when young Girish Koushik A of Mysuru took the chess world by storm by becoming the only Indian to win the Asian U-8, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16 titles along with world U-10 gold and two U-16 silvers apart from winning numerous State and national age-group medals.

Girish, coached by his father, became the wonderkid from a State with not much history in chess and even less accomplishments. The thing about having one breakthrough performer is that it spurs several others to follow. While Girish and a few others here waged a lone war, children from Tamil Nadu had greats like Vishwanathan Anand and other GMs from their State to look up to in a financially stable chess ecosystem - a guarantee that a young Girish could not depend on.

Following an envious stint on the junior circuit, Girish decided to take a break from chess to focus on getting a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering. Choosing education over sport is another common scenario hampering Karnataka’s prospects over the years.

However, players from smaller towns such as IM Shivananda BS of Sagara in Shivamogga district and Mysuru’s Thej Kumar continued playing. Thej went on to become Karnataka’s first and India’s 50th Grandmaster in 2017, a milestone that opened doors for Shivamogga’s Stany George Anthony (58th GM in 2018) and probably inspired Girish (63rd GM in 2019) to make a comeback. Pranav became the 76th and the latest GM in September this year.

“Growing up I hardly played 6-7 tournaments here. With no GMs to look up to, I was forced to travel to other States to earn ratings and face tougher opponents. But kids today have so many events with quality players right here,” explains Stany.

Covid, a blessing in disguise

“Speaking about the recent surge in the State or the country, the Covid-break in fact benefitted young chess players unlike any other sport,” observes 30-year-old Stany. “Most of us senior GMs had to turn to coaching for livelihood. But the youngsters had all the time in the world and used technology well to prepare and improve their skills.”

While technology and online chess have played a definitive role, another catalyst for the surge in Karnataka are initiatives such as the two-day chess camps called ‘Neevu chess kaliri’ (Come learn chess) organised by the KSCA in rural areas and schools. It was recently held in Kolar and Davanagere that saw over 200 kids participating in each. There is one scheduled in Madikeri this month.

But plenty of work is still left to do in terms of taking chess to newer heights, agrees Shastry.

“Unearthing talent in North Karnataka districts will be our focus in the coming months. We are also working on our dream of organising international events of longer formats here so our players get a chance to earn points for IM and GM norms,” said Shastry.

Despite the steady progress, roping in sponsors remains a constant challenge. “This issue is not just here but the entire chess world in general. Because sponsors look for more visibility. If corporate companies can fund players as social responsibility even if they aren’t looking to sponsor, it will help upcoming talents immensely because chess is an expensive sport,” felt Stany.

The recent wins could perhaps provide better avenues in terms of sponsorship along with increasing the number of people indulging in chess - a healthy sign of a growing sport.

The collective efforts of families, the association and schools have thus far resulted in conquering milestones once thought improbable. With a combination of experienced players - who stood strong during the most vulnerable years for the sport in the State - to the young brigade standing on a strong foundation, the state of chess in Karnataka has never looked brighter.