Chennai girls ready to rule again

Chennai

Chennai’s six-time National champion and India’s first woman Grandmaster (WGM)  Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman who ruled the roost from the 1990s, says the prospects are extremely bright for women’s chess in the city. “I see a lot of potential in Vaishali. I hope she will be able to carry on the mantle for Tamil Nadu in the national scene,” she says. Vijayalakshmi’s coach Ramesh too has high hopes on Vaishali. “She works hard, she is talented, she is very ambitious and has a lot of self-belief. With the right opportunities, she can cross the 2650 barrier,” he adds. Players are rated by the World Chess federation, FIDE. Those with 2500 rating fall in the Grandmaster category, and those over 2600 are generally branded as Super Grandmasters.

Sister act: While the prospects for women players are bright now, it was not always the case. Women’s chess in India has come a long way since the 1970s and 1980s when a couple of families ruled without contest. Maharashtra dominated the National women’s chess in the first two decades (1974 to 1994) with the Khadilkar sisters sharing the first 10 titles between them. (Rohini 5, Jayashree 4 and Vasanthi 1). Later, Bhagyashree Thipsay (5) and Anupama Gokhale (5) took 10 out of the next 12 titles.

Breaking the barrier: It was then that Tamil Nadu, more specifically Chennai, began to stamp its authority with the arrival of Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman, who wrote all records in her name in the next 10 years. There was a shift in the 2000s’ again towards Andhra Pradesh with Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika setting new benchmarks and records.

Though Saritha Reddy had opened Tamil Nadu’s account in 1987, the state dominated only in the 1990s and early 2000s when the trio of Viji, her sister Meenakshi Subbaraman and Aarthie Ramesh, all Women Grandmasters, displaced Maharashtra from the national team. But in the mad rush of boys trying to follow the path of Viswanathan Anand, women’s chess in the state somewhat lagged behind. Vijayalakshmi took a break from competitive chess after the death of her father and coach (Subbaraman) and there has been a level playing field in the last five or six years with girls from  Bengal, Pune and Odisha coming to the fore.

And Chennai is again in focus as Viji’s successors are gearing up to emulate her. “When I went to Olympiad initially, we used to have three players from Maharashtra and I was the only outsider,” says Vijayalakshmi. “Of course, after 1999, the scene changed and now there are many Tamil Nadu players coming up strongly. By 2002 Olympiad, it had changed entirely and there were 3 women from our state and one from Maharashtra,” she adds.

Opening up:  At the same time, Tamil Nadu and Chennai were changing their attitude to working women and chess was not a victim even with the traditionalists.

“Although Chennai was a very conventional society, chess was considered an intellectual game, and hence, not considered a taboo. In fact, I did get a lot of recognition. But, I am sure my dad and mom would have faced many questions (about why girls were sent to make chess a career),” says  Vijayalakshmi.

For girls with supportive families, there was an urgent need for good trainers to move forward in their career. And  in Chennai, around that time there were very few trainers available. “It was a pretty tough path,” recounts Viji. “And, honestly speaking I still miss my dad as a coach. He was a brilliant coach, who knew to hone the skills of a player. He was my greatest motivation. His faith and belief that anything is possible, gave me the confidence, to scale such heights. Till he passed away, he remained my coach.” Vijayalakshmi was lucky to have a chess family around her because when her father died her husband Sriram Jha, also a Grandmaster, took over  that role. He helps her in her  preparation.

Family first: Former players say women have difficult choices to make. “Definitely, marriage and children take a huge toll on women in India. But, I am lucky that my husband is a chess player and he supports my chess career. In India, a woman’s career ends with marriage or child birth. I have seen many women players, calling it quits. Working women are  different from career women,”  asserts Viji.

Basically, the family should support the children when they set their sights on a career. After Vijayalakshmi, Aarthie made good progress when she won the World under-18 title. “I was very lucky to have a very supportive family. My mother used to travel everywhere with me. Though I did not have any major sponsor till I won world U-18 title, we were able to manage,” says Aarthie, whose contribution to the game in Chennai has moved to a different level. She and her husband Grandmaster RB Ramesh run probably the best academy in the city and the country, Chess Gurukul, which attracts even young talents from other states.

On board as career: Aarthie feels the future of Chennai and Tamil Nadu is bright in the hands of young talents such as Mahalakshmi, Michelle Catherina, Vaishali, Harshini and Rakshitta. “The main thing is for them is to continue playing after school. Most of them choose professional courses and concentrate on studies,’ explains Aarthie and adds India will benefit from the next generation only if they “choose chess as a full time career.”

Though Tal Chess Club is known for producing many a Chennai talent with its tournaments and coaching sessions, Vijayalakshmi recalls it look a long time before girls went there.

“When my dad took me to the Tal Chess Club in 1984, there was not a single girl. During the girls National U-10 in 1988, there were eight participants, but now the scene is quite the opposite. In every age group the entries are overflowing,” notes Viji.  

With Viswanathan Anand as the benchmark for excellence, Chennai should be up there in women’s competitions too.