From bridesmaid to bride

SHE WAS getting tired of being the eternal bridesmaid. So much so she started to think seriously of a career beyond sport.

But last Monday in Nagpur, Swati Ghate, for once, raced ahead of her arch rival S. Vijayalakshmi, and created history. She became the first woman to qualify for the National men's `A' chess championship. Vijayalakshmi, who had very much wanted to get there first and had been threatening to do so for the last few years, also met the qualifying mark. But only a few hours after Swati did.

And Swati did it in style. She took the second place in the National men's `B' championship, when all she had to do was to finish inside the top 12 at Nagpur for a place in the National `A', India's strongest chess tournament.

She remained unbeaten, and scored 9.5 points from 13 rounds, a truly remarkable show, pitted against some of the country's stronger male players. It should do a world of good to her self- confidence. She need not have any more reservations about having a full-time career in chess.

But that summer night in a blistering Palakkad, four months ago, Swati was talking of a career other than chess. ``You see I have been working hard on the game, maybe not as much as (Koneru) Humpy, but certainly just about as hard as anybody else. The results, however, have not been great, as you know,'' she said.

She had just won the National women's `B' title with ease, but even that did not seem to lift her spirits. ``It's just a title,'' she had dismissed.

The one title she badly needed was the National women's `A'. ``I want to win it in Delhi, and won't be just playing for a place in the Indian team,'' she had assured.

But that was not to be. Vijayalakshmi was the bride yet again, and she had to be content with a place in the National squad.

It is not difficult to find out why Swati felt so frustrated at times. Just take a look at her game. She is one of India's most talented players in the women's game. She is a much better player than what her results, or the FIDE rating (2260), would suggest. And she knows it.

Nagpur could well be the turning point of her career.

And it may force her to think again about her plans about that alternate career she was talking about at Palakkad. ``I am going to give myself one full year for chess. Let's see if I get good results. Of course playing is fun, winning titles great, and representing your country a honour. But you have also got to think about your life.

``And when you look around, you will see that there is not much of a scope for a professional chess player in this country if you are a woman. And we don't get good jobs either (Vijayalakshmi's case is an exception). Look at (Safira) Shahnaz. She is an engineering graduate and is without a job'' she had said.

So what was she going to do?

``I want to take the Civil Services examinations. I know it would be tough, but I am prepared to work hard. When I took my HSC examinations, all I had was just one month's preparation, but still I came in the rank list of the Board. That gave me a lot of confidence in my academic abilities.''

Swati is currently employed with the Life Insurance Corporation, Pune. But she is originally from Sangli, the small Maharashtra town which gave birth to the famous Khadilkar sisters - Vasanti, Jayashree and Rohini - and Bhagyashree Thipsay, the pioneers of women's chess in India.

She moved to Pune a few years ago for the sake of chess (``There are not any good players I could practise with at Sangli'').

She was taught the game by her father Suresh. Before long, she started to beat him and graduated to tournaments. ``In the first ever tournament I played, the Maharashtra State under-12 championship, I am proud to tell you that I came fifth. Perhaps I might also add that there were only five participants.''

She went on to finish first in many tournaments (featuring more than one participant) and soon established herself as one of India's best talents, while she was very much in her teens. She became an International Woman Master in 1998, when she scored her final norm at the World junior championship at Kozhikode.

The Woman Grandmaster title is her next aim. ``And I am planning to play in a few tournaments in Europe for that. Yes, I know it would be terribly expensive, but you have no choice, because you don't have any tournaments in India.''

Swati's strength lies in her middle game, as is the case with most original players. Over the last couple of years she has been putting in a lot of effort in her openings, and as a result, she has a fairly good choice in that department of the game.

She is an ambitious girl, and very determined. She is just 21. Perhaps it's not yet time for her to plan a new career - after all, you can write the Civil Services examinations till you are 30.

Perhaps she should work even harder at her chess. Such talent should not be wasted.

P. K. AJITH KUMAR

Kozhikode

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