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Romancing the King
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The George sisters, Neenu, Nimmy and Neelima have placed Kerala on the Indian chess map. Their achievements are significant, with Nimmy being the best of the lot. STAN RAYAN profiles the promising sisters.
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Best of the trio: Nimmy George
AT AN age when girls turn dreamy creatures, when talk normally meanders around boys, movies and TV, sisters Neenu, Nimmy and Neelima toy around with some very cerebral stuff.
The three munch over opening theories, middle-game manoeuvres and end-game finesse, all intricacies of the quiet but bloody world of chess. Every passing day.
Meet the George sisters of Aluva, you can even call them the Polgars of Kerala chess. And very much like the Hungarian siblings Judit, Zsuza and Sofia who make regular waves in the world scene, the Kerala trio has been making a significant splash in the Indian circuit. Two of them have already won national titles and the third has just made her first few, exciting steps in the game.
Nimmy, the 16-year-old `middle' sister, is the champion at home and, currently, the best of the lot. Two years ago, she was the under-14 girls National rapid champion. A little later, she bagged the silver medal in the Junior Nationals (classical version), finishing runner-up to Chennai girl S. Meenakshi. The sterling performance carried her to the Junior Asians in Teheran where she finished ninth.
And just a couple of months ago, Nimmy along with her elder sister Neenu and teammates N.Sandhya and Roshini helped Kerala lift the National School Games chess title in Patiala.
All significant achievements considering the fact that the Indian women's circuit, which is currently enjoying its best phase, is a very strong one.
Consider these. Hyderabad's 15-year-old Koneru Humpy is the youngest girl in the world to become a men's Grandmaster. Humpy, who is also the Junior World champion, broke the record of Hungarian Judit Polgar the other day. She humbled a few men grandmasters on her way to glory.
Chess, being more of a mind game, is one of the few events where women can match wits with men. We now even have women playing the men's Nationals in the country.
``And with girls like Humpy and Dronavalli Harika around, we may soon have women wearing the men's National crown,'' says Neenu, a former National under-12 champion who represented India in World Youth Championship in Spain a few years ago.
But do men enjoy an edge over women in chess ?
``Maybe, but not when we face them across the board. We play as equals and we're always optimistic,'' says Nimmy, also a silver medallist in the recent Ernakulam Men's Rapid Championship.
Nimmy almost pulled off a sensational victory over Asian junior bronze medallist K.Ratnakaran in the State senior men's rapid championship in Kochi the other day. "She had me on the ropes, she had a clear winning position. But fortunately, she let me off the hook in the end,'' said Kozhikode's Ratnakaran, Kerala's highest-rated player.
Ratnakaran, who went on to win the title, was clearly impressed with Nimmy's play and progress. "She has a very strong middle game,'' he said.
Chess, essentially, is all about capturing the rival king. And how do women go about it ? Do they go soft and try to romance the king ? Try to entice him. Or sing... `Will you walk into my parlour ?'
``No, no,'' laughed Nimmy. "We can be as tough and as aggressive as the boys.''
Chess goddess Judit Polgar is a case in point. Her attacks are said to be ultimate in viciousness, often making her male opponents squirm.
Girls could have another factor going. Probably, a girl is at her sharpest best when she takes on a man. Her concentration is at its peak, waiting for small slips, watching out for every miss. In sharp contrast, games between sisters Neenu and Nimmy often end in tame draws in tournaments.
But back home, Neenu, Nimmy and Neelima are at their noisy best when they play each other or with their dad George John, a lecturer with St Paul's College in Kalamassery.
``We even have a lot of arguments whenever we take to the board,'' said Nimmy, a tenth standard student of Nirmala English Medium High School, Aluva. "And my mom would be in a dilemma, she'd end up supporting all of us.''
Chess came almost naturally to the three girls for their father, a national arbiter in the sport, was a district player.
``Dad used to play at home with his friends P.S. Ameer and M. Kannan, both strong State stars. And as children often do, my sister Neenu first began by playing with the pieces. She became more curious as days went by and soon realised that chess was fun,'' said Nimmy.
It didn't take long for Nimmy to find out why. She began at five and now outwits her father and sisters regularly. Her younger sister Neelima, now just five, is a bronze medallist in the Ernakulam under-7 championship.
With computers and software giants entering the sport, chess has made big strides today. And when chess knights talk of `sixes and sevens', don't throw up your hands in despair. They just mean the new and popular chess software, Fritz VI and VII.
Unfortunately, this is one area where the talented sisters fear they would be left behind. "Chess is an expensive sport and if we could buy a good computer and some new software, it would do us a world of good,'' says Nimmy.
It could open new worlds for Kerala chess too.
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