She is talented and enthusiastic

``YOU SHOULD be more expressive. There will be millions of youngsters who will be inspired by watching you talk. Speak loudly and clearly,'' coaxes a television journalist desperate to get a good byte from M. Kasturi, fresh from her success in the Asian under-20 junior chess championship.

She had just arrived from Delhi for a brief stop over at her relative's house in Chennai before heading for Madurai, her native place. Not used to the media glare, Kasturi looked lost briefly but the girl is on the road to achieving bigger things in the game of 64 squares.

Her impish smile and shy demeanour can be misleading but this girl is one to watch out for. She claimed her maiden gold medal in Teheran, Iran, recently. And for one who has not won a single National title earlier there could not have been a more fascinating leap in a career.

The 14-year-old Madurai girl stunned experienced players like S. Meenakshi and Shadi Paridar of Iran to remain undefeated in the eleven round Swiss for 16 players from 6 countries. She finished with 8.5 points from 5 draws and six wins.

Says her father P. Muthukumaran, Lecturer, Vivekananda College: ``We did not expect her to win the title as she has won numerous state titles but always failed to win the National title though she always figured in the prize list. So we were really surprised and happy. Moreover she was the youngest of the lot in the tournament.'' But Kasturi herself had no such doubts. ``I was confident that I will win the championship, I aimed for it '', she says in a matter of fact tone.

``In this tournament (Asian juniors), I was able to manage the openings and did not make as many blunders I normally do. For the last two or three months I have been playing well,'' said Kasturi in a chat with TheHindu.

She considers beating Shadi Paridar of Iran more satisfying than her win against countrymate S. Meenakshi. ``I played the end-game better against Paridar whereas against Meenakshi it was her mistake that made my job easy,'' she observed.

The preparatory camp, organised by the All India Chess Federation in June, by Argentina's Maxim Sorokin, helped Kasturi hone her skills. ``He (Maxim) taught the end games, middle games and different kinds of theories. It gave me the required confidence,'' remarked Kasturi. Despite finishing third in the National junior girls championship at Calicut, Kasturi qualified for the Teheran championship. That in itself is a curious story. ``Normally only the champion or the runner-up goes to the Asian championship. But this time Mr. P. T. Ummer Koya, secretary, All India Chess Federation used his influence to get three Indians invited,'' said Muthukumaran.

With this Asian title, Kasturi gets the tag of International Woman Master (IWM) and a 9-game Woman Grand Master (WGM) norm. Kasturi now becomes Tamil Nadu's fourth IWM. What started as a hobby turned serious business when her coach Saravanan noticed her innate talent. However, it was Rengarajan of Life Insurance Corporation who later polished her game from whom Kasturi learnt the nuances for three years in Madurai. Later V. Hariharan played a crucial role in moulding the girl to face the future battles. Kasturi keeps coming to Chennai during vacations to take lessons from Hariharan of Indian Bank.

Her father too chips in though he is not a chess expert. ``I don't know the game in and out but after learning from chess books I was able to guide her and my mathematics background helped tackle the problems logically.''

Manuel Aaron, the first International Master from India, and now the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Chess Association, has a special liking for Kasturi. ``He (Manuel) always used to tell Kasturi, `` you have won so many State titles but not a single National. It's like clearing 10th Standard but failing in PUC!'' recollects Muthukumaran with a laugh.

How did she find her first foreign outing? ``The trip to Teheran was rather strange'' in one way for when she landed there she was asked to wear a scarf. ``All the girls were wearing it during the games. For the first two days I found it difficult with the temperature around 42-43 degree celsius, but got used to it'', she said.

K. KEERTHIVASAN

Chennai

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