Date:03/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/03/stories/2007120355691700.htm

Sport - Chess

Ganguly leads Indian challenge

Rakesh Rao

NEW DELHI: Four time National champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly will head the list of contenders when the capital hosts the Commonwealth chess championship from Monday.

The biggest in terms of participation, the 10-round event, with Rs. 80 lakh as prize-fund, opens at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

However, the fact that the leading names from the Commonwealth nations continue to stay away from the championship reflects on lack of stature of the event. Bigger names, like Nigel Short on the last two occasions, make it only if offered lucrative appearance money.In the last three years, it is raining medals for the Indians at all levels. However, what has hit the young and the promising the most is the virtual famine norm-making opportunities in the country. That is one of the reasons why over 280 players, a large percent of them norm-hopefuls, are here.

A huge number of Indian teenagers are hoping to make it to the medal-bracket of the age-group prizes. Besides the prize-money for each medallist, the Sports Ministry incentive scheme brings in bigger moolah. However, the championship format for determining the age-group medal winners is clearly flawed. In this aspect, the Sports Ministry would do well to review its norms for rewarding age-group medallists from this event.Unlike the World or the Asian age-group competitions, the Commonwealth championship has one consolidated field, including men and women. At the conclusion of 10 rounds, the best three scorers in the designated age-groups — under-8, u-10, u-12, u-14, u-16, u-18 and u-20 — separately for boys and girls, are rewarded.

Since it is a mixed field and does not consider the quality of opposition faced by contenders in the age-group category, an eventual medallist can go through the event without facing a single player from his age-category.