Sport - Chess   

Champs in dire need of sponsors

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE July 22. Two young chess prodigies from Kerala are struggling to get sponsorship to participate in the British championship, scheduled to be held in Torquay from July 29. Their case is even more poignant because they are the defending champions in their respective age groups.

The youngsters are siblings, Gouri Shankar and Arjun Vishnuvardhan, the reigning under-10 and under-11 British champions.

They did the country and Kerala proud by claiming the titles in the last edition of the meet held in Scarborough and accolades followed in the wake of their triumphs. The Kerala government gave Rs.2 lakh award. Arjun Vishnuvardhan was youngest FIDE rated player in 2000.

The brothers, who are students of Christ Nagar School in Thiruvananthapuram, moved to Bangalore seven months ago to hone their skills under GMs like Raja Ravishekar and D.V. Prasad.

The father of the two, Mr C.R. Manoj, who is a pharmacist, speaking to The Hindu, said: "It is beyond our means to send the kids on our own. It will cost us Rs.2.5 lakhs. We managed to do it last year, but I really doubt our chances unless some help comes our way.''

Mr. Manoj said that though there was a team going to Torquay to play in the under-21 sections, the claims of his kids were being overlooked despite the fact they were the defending champions in their age groups. Mr Manoj said that he had approached the Kerala government for help and had spoken to Mr K. Sudhakaran, the Sports Minister of Kerala. "He has promised to look into the matter, but time is running out for us''.

Mr Manoj acknowledged the encouragement of the AICF President, Mr Omer Koya, and expected some positive development with his help. Besides the British Open, the boys are slated to play in a tournament in Abu Dhabi also, which will cost Rs.1.5 lakhs.

"At this stage, I would like to thank Mr Chandrahasan and Mrs Jaya Chandrahasan who helped us with credit facilities for tickets last year. They had offered us similar facilities this year too and also help us in procuring visas. But if help comes from other quarters my boys will surely go and I am sure they will defend their titles."

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