Today a majority of youngsters fancy only one sport; cricket. But, to this World Champion, chess was his calling. Having taken to chess around 8 years back, S.N. Jatin, won the gold medal in the World Amateur Chess Championship in Under 1700 rating category held in Greece recently. Jatin’s mother N.H. Vani, first put his younger son S.N. Nitin for the chess coaching camp. Later, Jatin also joined the classes. He found the game interesting and slowly developed his game. He recently won a bronze medal in the 5th National School Chess Championship in the U-15 boys category. This feat earned him a place in the team representing our country in the Asian School Championship to be held at Tehran in Iraq in the month of June, 2016. Jatin is also preparing for the Commonwealth Chess Championship to be held in Sri Lanka during August this year.

Jatin spends around 6-8 hours every day in front of his laptop practising chess and getting to know about new moves and his probable opponents in future tournaments. During his free time, he plays the flute to calm his mind. Jatin travelled to Bengaluru frequently for his advanced chess coaching class from IM Shivanand. Later, he joined the coaching classes conducted by M.P. Ajith to prepare for the Amateur World Chess Championship which yielded him a good result.

Jatin credits chess for helping him excel in his studies. Speaking to Star of Mysore, he said that the game had helped him immensely in scoring well. “Though I don’t study for long hours like others, I still manage to score 90 percent. This is possible only because of chess. It has helped me improve my concentration level,” he said.

Jatin has been amply supported by his father S.I. Nagagbhusan and his mother N.H.Vani in all his endeavours. Nagabhusan runs a small scale industry in Bannimantap. Speaking to Star of Mysore, Nagabhushan said that he was happy with Jatin’s achievements. But he also expressed his unhappiness over chess players not being recognised despite their achievements.

“We have spent around Rs.1.75 lakh for Jatin to take part in the tournament held at Greece. But, till date none of the Government agencies or private organisations have come forward to extend help. Unfortunately, it is only cricket that matters in our country,” he said.

During the world championship, the players from other countries were sponsored by their respective Governments, but it was only Indian chess players who had to bare all their expenses including the flights tickets, accommodation etc. Despite not helping the players financially, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) made sure the players wore the jersey given by the federation that too after collecting Rs. 3,000 from each one of them.

The t-shirt, shoes, socks and jersey provided by the AICF were of sub standard quality which cannot be used. But the federation has rules which make it compulsory for players representing the country to wear the jersey provided by them which only helped shame the country in front of players from other nations.

Jatin’s mother Vani, who is proud of her son’s achievement, expressed that despite being the first person to win a gold medal for the country in the World Amateur Chess Championship, Jatin’s achievements have gone unrecognised so far. She said that despite writing a letter to the AICF for help, the only reply from the federation was that it had no objection with Jatin participating in the event but it could not help him financially. Vani also said that chess is not at all recognised in the country and added that one of the persons in a government department told them that chess is not a sport, it was just a mind game!

Chess being an expensive game in terms of coaching and travelling, many of the chess players are in a dilemma on continuing with the game as there is no recognition or financial help. It is time for the authorities to supporting the game which originated in India to produced more world champions.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles /  by S.N.Venkatnag Sobers / May 07th, 2016

It is not easy for any sports person to make a comeback after staying away from the game for a long time. But when a player decides to do so, he/she is sure to come out with flying colours. At the age of 30, this Chess Champion we are about to introduce wouldn’t have dreamt of winning a silver medal in the Under 2000 rating at the Amateur World Chess Championship, especially after being away from the game for almost six years. The chess player we are talking about is none other than our city’s own M.P. Ajith. Having come from a poor family background, Ajith has struggled a lot to rise to this level. In fact, he has been borrowing money to participate in national level tournaments. Just to inform the uninformed, Ajith had to mortgage one of his aunt’s gold chain to book his flight ticket to Greece apart from getting sponsorship from a few individuals and a company.

by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers

This 30-year-old chess champion has been playing for more than 20 years. He has a unique style of attacking his opponent which is considered to be rare among chess players. Ajith, who has won many tournaments, in fact had to stop playing chess for six years since 2008. Playing chess for many years and winning tournaments did not get Ajith the deserved recognition and this forced him to quit the game and try his luck with other sports such as athletics.

Ajith, along with practising for athletics, also started running a stationary shop, when his father M.R. Prakash passed away suddenly in 2013. Since then the family has been struggling to lead their lives. With no proper job to cater to their needs, Ajith and his mother Padmavathi, have been living in a small house in T.K. Layout.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Ajith said that he lost all his money in repaying his father’s loans. They even had to sell his mother’s gold jewellery to stay afloat.

“My father went to Dubai to make some money during 1994 and came back in 1996. A person, who got close to my father, took money from him assuring him a partnership in an LPG agency. After taking the amount the person never returned and later we got to know that this person was a conman. Dejected because of the loss, my father fell sick and died. Later, I had to clear all his loans. I have even had to sell many of my trophies and medals for meeting our daily needs,” he added.

After having endured a lot of hardship, Ajith made up his mind to return to Chess in 2014. On his comeback trail, Ajith faced a lot of stiff challenges which he overcame. He won the National Amateur Chess Championship in his category at Nagpur in 2015 before heading to Greece where he won a silver medal.

Ajith said that he decided to take to chess again after seeing an announcement of cash rewards by the State Government for talented sports persons. Having won the silver medal in the Amateur World Chess Championship, will the State Government recognise his achievements? Only time will tell.

Today, Ajith continues to coach young kids who have taken up Chess. Though he wants to quit coaching, as it affects his preparations for future tournaments, Ajith has no other option. He also has no computer or laptop, which is essential for his preparation. Ajith borrows a laptop from his students to practise.

In fact, S.N. Jatin, who won the gold medal in the World Amateur Chess Championship in Under 1700 was coached by Ajith for the past three months. Ajith has been looking for sponsorships as he is focused on taking his game forward and becoming a Chess Grandmaster. Such sports talents must be encouraged and brought to the limelight.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles /  by S.N.Venkatnag Sobers / May 07th, 2016