CHENNAI: A few weeks ago, a seed in black and white checks was sown. And with necessary attention from the government and enthusiasm from the people, it has begun to even show sprouts. Beyond murals and painted bridges, the chess craze in Chennai is now making its mark on stores and clubs as well, courtesy the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad.
Off the shelf
Chandra Kumar Chopda, owner of Pavilion Sports attests, as he sees chess equipment fly off the shelves faster in the past week than in months prior. “Sales have gone up by 50 to 60 per cent. Even though, value-wise, it adds only a small profit to the whole business, we are happy that Chennaiites are in high spirits with chess enthusiasm,” he says. The sentiments are echoed by PP Raja of Vinayaka Sports. The chess mats that had no takers only a couple of months ago are now much-wanted commodities.
“I have seen more interest in this tournament than any other. I too am excited that Chennai hosted such a big event. Now, kids are following chess on social media and television and parents are encouraging them to buy equipment and learn the sport. I think this interest is here to stay,” he shares. Unfortunately, sales have not been consistent throughout the city, with some sports stores including Challenge Sports seeing no upward trend. “I had expected a rise in sales with the Olympiad in mind. But there has been hardly any rise in sales. I think this would only be the case if chess were to be introduced as early as school. Currently, chess equipment contributes to only 5 per cent of our business,” explains Ranson of Challenge Sports.
Store sales may show inconclusive results regarding the game’s popularity, but chess clubs and academies are seeing higher numbers of enrollment. Some like Sathurangam The Chess School, have experienced the rise only recently. “In the beginning, I thought only the final result of the Olympiad would impact the enrollments. That is, if India wins. But the past few days proved me wrong. After watching the games at the venue or on television, we got a lot of enquiries,” shares Sathish Hariharan, International FIDE rated player who runs the school.
And it is not only the children who are showing interest, as Ganesh Pandiyan, former Tamil Nadu state champion and owner of Vadapalani Chess Academy, and Arvind Aaron, chess player who runs the Aaron Chess Academy with his father, Manuel Aaron, have witnessed. Adults like V Narmada, a homemaker joined the academy a week ago, with the intention of teaching the game to her five-year-old daughter. “I wanted to admit my daughter, Nilani, who is studying in class 1, but since she is too young, I thought I would learn instead and be her first coach. Even though it has only been a few days since I started taking lessons, I enjoy going to class. I play with small kids, since I am only a beginner and they beat me with ease. But I am learning so much from them,” she says.
For some, the chess scene is new but even for a pioneer like Manuel, the first chess master of India, the publicity of the event has been unlike any other locally-hosted tournament he has seen in his career. “When the World Chess Championship happened in Madras in 2013, featuring a match between Carlsen and Anand, there wasn’t this much publicity. At the time, only some stretches of the road leading to the venue held some placards announcing it. But now, this is at a mass level and many are involved in it. This is very good for chess. From this wave, more chess players will emerge and one of them may even be the next world champion,” he says, applauding the Tamil Nadu government for their efforts.
Sustainable support
The sprouts may be blooming, but how long until we see them wither and wilt? Chess is now in a race for longevity. As the Olympiad bids adieu, we must now decide if the craze is a lasting trend or a flitting fad. Arvind Aaron believes that the excitement is here to stay. He states, “The chess wave of 1972 was created by the Fischer vs Spassky match. Viswanathan Anand winning the world title in 2000 caused the entries to double in tournaments in the following year.
The Chennai Olympiad wave started in early June and it could last a year or even more.” Karthik Raj, co-founder of the Time 2 Chess academy, is glad to see that what was once considered by parents to be an extracurricular activity to help concentration, memory, intellect and foresight is now looked at as a serious sport. However, there is more that could be done in order to preserve this, as he mentions. “Three or four years ago, we were able to create a human-sized chessboard at a mall and people from schools could come and play.
It wasn’t just momentary for them but also magnificent and glorious to the visitors. We need more such events — a combined effect of the community and organisations in creating chess events in different spaces. Like, say, the corporate world. They inculcate recreational games into their culture, but chess has never been seen as a part (of it). We could introduce it there and in happening spots like malls, parks and beaches; the same way we have an ‘I love Chennai’ display at the beach. We could have chessboards made of stone at beaches and parks where people can come and play for free; you see the same in New York City. If you look at cricket, it is displayed all the time on televisions and in malls. When people start seeing the sport and players again and again, they celebrate them. That’s how a culture of a sport begins,” Karthik explains.
To motivate young chess players, Ramesh RB and Aarthie Ramaswamy of Chess Gurukul (among other educators) took them to the Olympiad to watch matches. As teachers, they have to do their part in making sure the excitement doesn’t wear out easily, they say. As Ranson had mentioned, Sathish also advocates for early access to chess. He believes that schools should include the sport in the academic curriculum delivering grades, so that more kids will be inclined towards it. He also requests the school authorities and parents to help their kids balance academics and sports. He states, “In Russia, in every school, chess is a part of academics. In Indian schools, however, it is an extracurricular activity. As a result, we have more Grand Masters from Russia. But with a good population in India, we can easily create champions from our environment if we try hard enough. Parents should also prioritise developing their kids’ skills if they are showing talent from a young age.”
Fair playgrounds
But creating champions will take more than awareness and interest, it seems. Manuel speaks of the role of the government and locally-hosted tournaments when it comes to norms (that are needed to achieve status as a Grand Master or International Master). “The percentage of foreign players in open tournaments in India is very little and so, players cannot easily get the experience that will fuel them to be Grand Masters. That can only be guaranteed through league tournaments.
Currently, our players have to go abroad to attain their norms, but not everyone can afford the trip (it doubles for children since a parent must also accompany them). The Chess Federation is not thinking about the future. How will children be able to get their norms? And how would poor people be able to afford it (to travel internationally for it)? At the young age of 12, it is possible to earn a norm and there are children like that (in India) but not all of them are affluent. You have to think of everybody. It has to be a level playing field. If you want to achieve results for your players, you have to have your own closed tournaments,” he says. Furthermore, he brings light to the lack of sponsorships for budding young talent until they become champions.
At the end of the day, chess is not just a hobby, sport or game. It is a skillset, as Karthik puts it. “Chess is a combination of art, science and sport. It is a rare combination no other sport has. And I feel chess has become very important in today’s lifestyle; like yoga. Any person, manager, CEO, who knows chess can do better than someone who doesn’t. It’s because everything from planning, strategising, foresight, precaution, retreating are taught to you from a young age. Chess today is not a sport but a skillset everyone can and should pursue,” he says.
A noble thought, indeed. Now to wait and watch if this seed of thought blooms in the city.