World Cup championship on the cards

By V.V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD, APRIL 18. The World Cup bug seems to be fast catching even the chess fraternity. For, FIDE, the premier world chess body, has decided in principle to organise a World Cup chess championship very soon, according to its vice-president, Mr. P.T. Ummer Koya.

The tournament will feature the national champions of the member countries and the Continental champions. The idea is to see the best of chess brains battle it out. The World Cup will be different from the current world championship in both format and structure.

``The modalities of the event are being discussed with all leading players, officials and prospective sponsors. Something concrete will emerge very soon, after the FIDE meeting during the Olympiad in Istanbul,'' he said.

Meanwhile, one of the star attractions of the Grandmasters international chess tournament to be held in Hyderabad from June 15 will be the versatile Vladimir Evegeny, who switched his coaching loyalty from Anatoly Karpov to current world champion Garry Kasparov. This has been confirmed by Mr. Koya, who is also secretary of the All India Chess Federation.

Speaking to The Hindu during his transit halt in the City on the way back from Guntur to Kozhikode, Mr. Koya said Joel Lautier and his wife, who is also a Woman Grandmaster, Almira, Magami, the highly gifted youngster from Iran, and Andrew Webster of England were the other foreign Grandmasters who had expressed willingness to take part in the Hyderabad event.

From India, those who finish in the top six places of the National `A' championship to be held from May 16 to June 6 in Mumbai would be eligible, with the youngest International Master P. Harikrishna getting the host's entry.

Mr. Koya said in view of the golden jubilee celebrations of the AICF next year, ambitious plans had been chalked out, including hosting 50 FIDE-rated tournaments throughout the country. A gathering of all those who contributed to the growth of chess in the country, including national champions in different categories, members of Olympiad squads, medal winners in international events, sponsors and media representatives would be held. The plans also include conducting top level Grandmasters events throughout the year.

One of the significant decisions of the AICF is to enhance the prize money in the National `A' championship from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1,40,000, as it is now a Grandmasters tournament with four Indians - Pravin Thipsay, Dibyendu Barua, Abhijit Kunte, Krishnan Sasikiran - getting the title.

Another welcome development is the AICF plan to soon launch an intensive drive to spot talent below the age of 11 and pay special attention by hiring foreign coaches. ``The objective is to see that we match the best in the world in the coming years,'' he said. These camps will be held in Bangalore or Delhi.

A proposal in this regard has been submitted to the Union Government and Mr. Koya will hold talks with the Sports Minister in this connection next week. Special emphasis will be laid on training prospective candidates for the World Junior championship to be held in Armenia in October this year, as since Viswanathan Anand no Indian has won the top place, he said.

One of the major events on the AICF calendar this year is the conduct of the World Youth chess championship featuring 2000 players from 130 countries, Mr. Koya said. Interestingly, Mr. Y.V. Anjaneyulu, managing director of Chalapathi Group, which hosted the Grandmasters event at Guntur was also keen to conduct another edition next year, he said. ``It was a big success and gave a definite clue to the Indians where they stand against higher rated players,'' he said.

The biggest news for the twin cities chess lovers is the setting up of a Koya Chess Academy with Mr. I. Muralidhar Naidu coordinating the entire affair. ``Talented youngsters will be spotted and given intensive coaching by some of the leading Grandmasters from the country and if necessary from abroad,'' Mr. Koya said.

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