Siblings S L Narayanan and S L Parvathy are the cynosure of all eyes at the SBI FIDE rated chess tournament in progress at the Chandrashekharan Nair Stadium here.
The ten-year old Narayanan, who had won the state championships in the under- 11 category in 2008 and in the under-9 section in 2007, created a flutter in the third round on Sunday toppling Tamil Nadu's A Shankar who has a far superior ELO rating than Narayanan's. On Tuesday, Narayanan defeated state-mate Pramod Das.
Parvathy, elder to sibling Narayanan, had finished runner-up in the state under-13 championship earlier this year. The duo's father, P Sunil Dutt said he is leaving no stone unturned to ensure his children climb up the rungs of success in the game of sixty-four squares. "All my efforts are aimed at making sure that my children get the maximum opportunities to participate at various levels so that they develop into successful chess players," he said.
The kids are coached by two-time former state champion, Sreekumar. “When Narayanan got the Fide rating, he was the youngest to achieve the feat,” he said. "They are improving fast. Former state champions, including OT Anil Kumar have appreciated the kids' efforts in the ongoing event."
Currently, Narayanan and Parvathy have secured 5.5 points and 4.5 points respectively in the championship. Their strong performances here will also help them better their FIDE ratings.
Praveen emerges sole leader
Praveen Kumar C of Tamil Nadu emerged the sole leader with seven points after eight rounds in the SBI FIDE rated chess tournament at the Chandrashekharan Nair Stadium here on Wednesday.
In a top board game of round eight, Praveen Kumar beat the overnight joint leader and compatriot D P Singh. A Shankar and Phoobalan of Tamil Nadu along with K Retnakaran, O T Anil Kumar and Joy Lazar of Kerala are on the second spot with 6.5 points each.
The results: Praveen Kumar (TN) beat D P Singh (TN); A Shankar (TN) beat Murali Krishnan (TN); K Retnakaran (Kerala) beat Linda Rangarajan (PON); Anil Kumar O T (Ker) beat Mishra Soumyaranjan (Orissa); Phoobalan (TN) beat M P Muralidharan (Kerala); Joy Lazar (Kerala) beat Balasubramanium (TN); Lokesh P (TN) beat Sanjay Date (Gujarat).