|
It's a hectic schedule ahead for Kantholy Rathnakaran. A third place-winner at the Asian Junior Chess Championship, Rathnakaran is set to begin his intensive three-week coaching stint under the renowned Russian coach Alexander Lyssenko here on Tuesday. The Russian International Master has been invited by Tal Chess Academy, as part of the institution's determined efforts to groom the city lad into a world class player. "Lyssenko is a wonderful coach,'' said Rathnakaran, who had finished sixth in the National Rapid Chess Championship which concluded in Tirur the other day. "I had a brief stint with him in 1999, when he was here to hold separate camps for the National champions and State champions.'' This time, Rathakaran hopes to take part in a major national or international event, soon after undergoing Lyssenko's training.
Rathnakaran, a product of the Tal Chess Academy, had finished a creditable third in the Asian junior championship held in Tehran. Though he had tied for the second spot with
Pentyala Harikrishna, the former was adjudged second on better progressive score. Earlier Rathnakaran had held Harikrishna to a draw when they met each other in the tournament. Harikrishna, incidentally, went on to make history by becoming the youngest Grandmaster in the game.
Despite bringing laurels to the country and the State, Rathnakaran's feat has not yet been 'officially' recognised by either the State government or the Kerala Sports Council. Interestingly, the council has not even found time to felicitate the player. The KSC has always turned a blind eye towards the national and international achievements of the State players, alleges the chess oraganisers. What worries Rathnakaran most is the lack of a sponsor to back him in his campaign. "Without the support of the All India Chess Federation, Tal Chess Academy and the Parent Teachers Association at my college, it would have been impossible for me to take part in the Asian juniors,'' recalls Rathnakaran, a third year B Com student at the Govt Arts & Science College.
Rathnakaran, who had benefited much from his three-year stint with the chess coach M D Antony in Kozhikode, is still in the dark about how he is going to generate the money required to compete in major events. Though big corporate houses like Wipro have come forward to sponsor promising players elsewhere in the country, Kerala has not yet been able to project its chess players as 'marketable commodities.' Rathnakaran, who started playing chess during his school days, was the State schools champion from 1996 to '98. He hit the headlines first by emerging third in the national junior championship. He had recently taken part in the World Chess Championship held in Athens.
"Rathnakaran, along with his brother Lakshminarayanan, has shown tremendous improvement in recent years. The future looks bright for him,'' commented M D Antony, who has been closely watching the growth of Rathnakaran as a player for quite a few years now.
|
