The game of 64 squares has been fairly easy for Geetha Narayanan Gopal, the only Chess Grandmaster from Kerala. But what was difficult for him was the game outside the chessboard, played by authorities.
Hailed by many as a natural talent, and having startled many a master at a young age, Gopal, though, nurtures an ambition - to become the world number one. Though financial difficulties stand against his wish to appoint a second to help sharpen his skills, the 24-year-old is determined to chase his dream. Without allowing his target to fade, Gopal is now busy pursuing his short-term target -- to gain 2600 Elo points in the next six months.
‘I want to garner 2600 Elo points in six months and then cross the target of 2650. My long-term target is to accumulate 2700 Elo points as there are only 40 players in the world who have crossed this rating,” says an inspired Gopal.
Fresh from a runner-up finish in the third Indonesian Open earlier this month, he said that missing opportunities to participate in major tournaments in the past has affected his rating “badly”. Having become an International Master in 2006 at the age of 17, Gopal became India’s 16th Grandmaster and the first from Kerala in 2007, when he achieved the title at the age of 18. After six years, the sole GM from the state says that there is little recognition for chess players in the state.
‘Players like P Harikrishna, Koneru Humpy and S S Ganguly have received great recognition and other benefits from their respective state governments when they had achieved the GM title. But I have met with an entirely different situation in Kerala. Chess players are often sidelined in the state and the promotion they receive is minimal.
As the appointment of seconds is very expensive, it is the biggest hurdle which is checkmating me now. In 2008, Geojit BNP Paribas had sponsored my training with Lev Psakhis. Except this, I have been undergoing self-training,” said Gopal, who is currently employed as an Executive (Sports) with Bharat Petroleum.
In order to excel in the game, proper guidance from a veteran GM for at least six sessions in a year is necessary, Gopal says. “A Grandmaster charges 3000 euros per day now. A single session with a GM will be for 10 days.
At least six sessions are mandatory for a player like me. But as I could not shell out such an amount of money, I self-train for 8-10 hours a day. Recently, I have been in touch with Russian GM Vladimir Chuchelov, he is willing to train me at any time but money remains a problem,” Gopal, who adores Kasparov and Fisher, said. ‘Chess has to become a part of curriculum as it will improve overall personality. There is no substitute for hard work,’ advises Gopal. He considers the Bronze medal in the World Team Championship in 2010 at Buzan in Turkey as his greatest achievement.
Now the GM is preparing for Alain Open in December at Alain and Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Championship to be held in January next year.