CHENNAI: Academies form the backbone of any sport in Tamil Nadu, more so in chess. To excel in the 64-square game, one needs to have a sustained growth right from a very young age to the time one becomes a Grandmaster and beyond. Mount Chess Academy is one such institute that provides an opportunity for children to not only learn the game, but also organises tournaments at various levels to hone the skills of the players.
Recently, 12-year-old P Vignesh Kannan of Sivagangai won the MS Venkataraman Memorial 7th international FIDE rated chess tournament held at NSN Memorial Senior Secondary School, Chitlapakkam, which was organised by the Mount Chess Academy. Vignesh bagged Rs 51,000 prize money and a trophy.
“I am glad to have won the MSV Memorial tournament. It is the result of my hard work and the inputs from my coaches. It was really a very tough tournament. Even though there were higher rated players in the draw, I was confident of my ability. I knew that my solid training would help me. As expected, my earnest preparation came in handy and I played very well to win the tournament. Looking back, the seventh round was tough because I played against FM Prasannaa S,” said the youngster.
Vignesh, who has been playing from the age of 6, was inspired to take up chess due to the exploits of five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. Vignesh’s elder brother Vasantha Rajan P is also a chess player with a rating of 1181.
His father Parthipan is a housekeeper, while his mother Muthulakshmi works as a nurse. Despite his modest background, Vignesh’s dreams of becoming a Grandmaster one day and is working hard towards it. “Having an elder brother who is also a chess player helps as there is a lot of support and encouragement at home. Plus, both my parents believe in sports and this has helped me evolve as a chess player. In the Under-7 category, I won the district selection tournament and this led me to play in the state level chess championship. That was the moment that I believed that chess would be my future,” said Vignesh.
In his pursuit for excellence, the young champ has been taking lessons from various coaches who teach him offline and online. “My first coach is Athulan Sir from Chanakya Chess Academy, Karaikudi, with whom I train even now. I also train under RB Ramesh Sir from Chess Gurukul Academy, Balakrishnan Sir from Chaturang Chess Academy and Kavitha JE from LM Chess academy (online). I train in the morning from 6 am to 8 am and evening from 5 pm to 8.30 pm. On holidays, I fully work on chess,” he shared.
Vignesh has won many district and state level tournaments. Though he has been taking part in the Nationals in various age groups, he has not tasted the same level of success and is working on it with his coaches.
“In 2022, I got first place in the 33rd Tamil Nadu State Under-12 chess championship. A gold in the ISC Blitz tournament in Kerala and third place in 34th Tamil Nadu State Under-13 Open FIDE rated chess championship. I also got first place in many district and state tournaments. Now, I want to use these experiences and do well at the national level.’’ said Vignesh.
