Vijayalakshmi will be the girl to beat

By Arvind Aaron

CHENNAI, SEPT. 2. The ninth India Cements Asian women's chess championship has a new importance despite being the continental championship due to the 10 qualifying slots it offers in the World women's championship to be held in Moscow from November 24.

Woman Grandmaster Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman, 22, of Indian Airlines, Chennai, will start as the top seed as she's the highest-rated player under the Arpad Elo rating system of FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

Besides the contest for the title and $2,000 (Rs. 94,000) first prizemoney, the players should be looking for a safe passage qualification to the World championship and try to remain undefeated in the 11 games. The total prize fund is $ 8,000 in the event which starts on Monday morning at Hotel Taj Connemara.

The qualification race should be largely fought between the Indian and the Chinese players. Vietnam's Hoang Thanh Trang won the last event held at Udaipur in January 2000. That country is represented by other players this time. Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan also have strong players who are favourites to make the qualifying mark.

Vijayalakshmi's main rivals will be China's Wang Yu and Zhao Xue. Vijayalakshmi is known to be nervous while facing players from her home nation that the fewer number of them she meets will be to her advantage. She could not win a single game against the Indians in the Zonals held in Colombo this May.

In the previous editions, Vijayalakshmi was looking for Woman Grandmaster norms. This time, having the title behind her, the local star is bound to play straight for the title.

Four of the 10 Indians should have the home advantage since they come from Chennai itself. Former World under-18 girls' champion Aarthie Ramaswamy is fast improving and should be a candidate to qualify along with Meenakshi Subbaraman, now the second best player in the country. International Woman Master Swati Ghate, who became the first lady to qualify for the Men's National `A', will be one of the big local hopes.

Two-time former championship winner Anupama Gokhale and winner of the Bhopal 1991 edition, Bhagyashree Thipsay, add to India's qualifying probability. Thus, all 10 Indians have chances to make the top-10 grade.

The Asian women's championship is primarily an event designed and organised in India since it was held for the first time in Hyderabad in 1981. The then All India Chess Federation Secretary, Nasiruddin Ghalib, who was trainer of the Khadilkar sisters of Mumbai, was instrumental in having this event. He was also a member of the FIDE Women's Commission.

The Indian women have dominated this event in a big way, bagging five titles in the first five years with Rohini Khadilkar (1981, 1983), Anupama Gokhale (1985, 1987) and Bhagyashree Thipsay (1991) being the winners.

It is in Vijayalakshmi's hands to bring back lost glory in this section as she starts as the top seed on home turf.

Two Indians, Pallavi Shah, the Zone 3.1b champion and Koneru Humpy, the reigning World junior girls' champion, have already qualified for the World championship knock-out.

How many other Indians make it from here and get a ticket to Moscow will be known only after the last round on September 12.

China, Vietnam doubtful

China and Vietnam have been placed under the `doubtful' list as there was no information about the arrival of their teams in Chennai. This news put a smile on many of the Indian players.

One of them was IWM Swati Ghate, who is playing a tournament in Chennai for the first time. IWM Nisha Mohota, who became an International Woman Master in Chennai six years back, said she was delighted to be back.

Favourite Vijayalakshmi told The Hindu, ``I would prefer a strong tournament with the inclusion of the Chinese.'' Her sister Meenakshi, who is a student of Ethiraj College, said, ``I would invite my classmates to come and watch my games as the venue is next door.''

Dr. V. Chandrasekaran, Chairman and CEO, Penta Media Graphics Ltd., inaugurated the event with a speech underlining that chess gives him good company whenever he feels lonely.

Players from five countries, including India's strongest-ever woman player Vijayalakshmi, lighted the five ends of the kuthuvilakku (lamp).

FIDE Vice-President, Mr. P.T. Ummer Koya, who called Tamil Nadu the most active unit of his chess federation, explained that chess replaced swordfight as a tie- break to decide which man would marry a woman. He said this kept the game alive for thousands of years.

The drawing of colour on the top board was made with top seed Vijayalakshmi picking up a white queen from a bowl.

But whom she would play would be decided after the pairings are made after the players' meeting is over.

India's Woman Grandmaster, S. Vijayalakshmi (right), inaugurating the

ninth Asian women's chess championship in Chennai on Sunday.

Khegay Anjela (Uzbekistan), Sri Lanka's Anupama Konara, FIDE

Vice-President Mr. P.T. Ummer Koya, Kazkhstan's Sergeeva Maria

and Arbiter Ambika Kutty look on. - Photo: S. Thanthoni

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