INTERVIEWS

Former National chess champion IM Raja Ravishekar who had made waves in the National and State scene in Tamil Nadu during the 70's and 80's, now after his retirement from the game has been involved in promoting the game, by coaching youngsters and also by writing chess books and magazines. He is also a qualified International Arbiter and has arbitered in many of the national championships and other tournaments in our country. He quit playing active chess way back in 1984 due to various reasons and after a long liaison with Lakshmi Mills Group, Coimbatore, he has settled down in Bangalore seeking greener pastures. He has been associated with the game of chess in various ways, like conducting coaching camps to upcoming youngsters, writing books on chess (Indian Masters Outwit Grandmaster-Chess Windows Book-III Volumes) and he is also in the process of introducing a chess fortnightly magazine for the benefit of chess lovers in the State. IM Raja Ravishekar was recently in Mysore and speaking to Mysore Sports.com he exchanged his views on the game of chess and also about the present state of Indian chess in the International scene.

MS: According to your opinion is it better for a player to play and practice with a computer to improve his skills?

RRS: In the earlier days, players used to only refer chess books to know about the various openings and end games involved in the game. As days changed, and with the introduction of the computer to the modem world, players started playing with the help of the computer. The computer has a very wide range of software on chess. As chess is a mind game, it is very much suitable for the computer. It is very advantageous to play with the computer as it commits fewer mistakes. The computer will have the latest software package in its system and it will play the best available opening and moves. In order to play in the higher level, one must practice with the help of the computer, which will help him to home his skills. Children should start playing with the aid of computer from the age of 16-18. If younger children (below 16 years) play with the computer they will start losing and their motivation level will go down. So, in order to avoid discouragement, only children who have matured enough should play chess with the computer. Computer on the other hand, is very useful for developing players as it has many sample games and it can be used as a tool. You can analyze the game well and according to me in to-days modern world an upcoming chess player should make use of the computer. There are many disadvantages also, as the computer is difficult to outsmart and is a double-edged sward. So one should not lose his motivation level and only the good things from the available technology should be taken into consideration.

MS: What do you think is the ideal age to start playing chess?

RRS: According to me, the ideal age for one to start playing chess is five years. The child should be introduced to the game at this age and basic information about the game should be taught to him, so that by the time he attains the age of six or seven years he would have gained a good idea about the finer points of the game. He should be introduced to play in more number of tournaments and by the time he attains the age of eight he should have made a mark in the State and National level. for e.g. Vishwanathan Anand was introduced to the game of chess at the age of six by his mother and by the age of nine or ten. Anand went on to reach the top in the National level.

MS: Now with the corporate sponsorships coming in from Wipro, Compaq how do you think it has been helping the players cause?

RSS: The corporate sector's bigwigs from the computer industry, Wipro and Compaq have been showing a good interest in promoting the sport since the game co-ordinates more with computers and they also can boost their image and gain some mileage by way of advertisement. The films are sponsoring coaching comps for the promising youngsters in association with the AICF in order to groom them as prospective world champions.

MS: What is your opinion on the present state of affairs of chess in our State land how do you think the game could be made more popular?

RRS: Frankly speaking, chess activity in Karnataka is only concentrated in Bangalore, Mysore, Shimoga and to some extent the Dakshina Kannada Districts. The KCA does not have affiliation in all its districts, which is the drawback and if many sports persons take up to the game, it is good for the sport. The State association's activity is more concentrated to Bangalore and if the association tries to identify talents in various districts and give affiliation to the districts there is hope of a positive result. The Department of Youth Services and sports which monitors the working of the association should instruct the State chess body to work for the promotion of the sport in various districts and the grants should be disbursed only when they fulfill their requirements.

For example, the outflow of players from Maharastra and Tamil Nadu is very good, since their programmes in the district level are well planned. In Tamil Nadu, each player in order to qualify to play in the National level has to take part in the State and district championship and only if he emerges as the winner, he gets to play in the National championship representing the State. Likewise, there are chess playing centers in every district in Tamil Nadu, Maharastra, which in turn yields them better results.

MS: Chess is a popular game in our country with the exploits of V. Anand, Vijayalakshmi, K. Humpy and Harikrishna. What do you think is the present position of our country in the international level?

RSS: Indian chess players are held at a very high esteem in the International level at present. Vishwanathan Anand is presently the World No.2 and he has been keeping our country's flag flattering high with his feats in the international level. Mr. Umar Koya, the President of AICF to day hold a very high post in the International chess body and he has been working hard to promote the sport in the Asian level. India has been able to conduct more number of International rating tournaments in our country, which opens the door for more our country's players to attain International Master and Grand Master Norms whereas it was not the case in the earlier days when players had to tour abroad to play in rated tournaments to attain the norm. More number of International rated tournaments are being hosted in India and he amount of prize money has gone up considerably. To player's performance has been recognized and they have fund employment in PSU's like PACB, LIC, Indian Airlines, Union Bank, Indian Bank, NLC and Corporation Bank, which is a good sign.

MS: How are the ratings calculated in the game of chess?

RSS: The ELO rating of a player in the earlier days, had a downward base as low as 1900. Presently, it starts at 2200 and goes upwards. In the international level, a chess player is recognized based on his ELO ratings. A player with a higher ELO rating gets a good seeding in the National championship. All over India there are around 500 ELO rated players. A player who has around 2450 ELO points is considered as a International Master and one with rating of 2600 points and above is a Grand Master. A player who has garnered over 2700 ELO points is a World-Class player. The rating of IM's and GM's fluctuate. Karnataka's D.V.Prasad (the former National champion) has the highest ELO rating of 2430 in the State.