Sport - Chess   

Blitz game all set to take centrestage

By Stan Rayan

FIDE Vice-President and AICF Secretary Mr. P.T. Ummer Koya.

KOCHI Jan. 6. What...action pictures in chess?'' asked the shutterbug, clearly annoyed at the 64-square assignment the other day.

Well, if you ever thought chess was all about brooding faces resting on still hands, fingers that take hours to move a few pawns over a few small squares, you could be in for a surprise.

The `mind game' could be in for a flurry of activity with the All India Chess Federation planning to promote blitz chess in a big way in the country. As a first step, the AICF will hold its first blitz nationals this May.

``It could be the key to popularising chess in a big way among children. We want to make the chess base bigger and the blitz game could play a crucial role in this,'' said the AICF secretary and the world body FIDE vice-president P.T. Ummer Koya in an exclusive chat with The Hindu.

Well, the five-minute blitz chess games could bring the fun element back to the sport, after the taxing four and six-hour matches. Imagine lovely little children gushing over a few lightning moves, darting across the room to have a quick look at nearby boards, then scurrying back to make their own move.

Well, it could even inspire the shutterbug to roll out a few lively images.

``Our target is to make chess the No.1 sport in the country by 2007 and the top sport in the world by 2012,'' said Mr Koya as he relaxed at the Taj Residency in Kochi. "And the AICF and FIDE have chalked out some secret plans to achieve the goals,'' he said.

The blitz, or lightning chess as it is also known, could just be one of these. Though the five-minute game, where players have a few seconds to make a move, is popular all over the world and is often played at the end of major tournaments, FIDE has not tapped the blitz's universal appeal.

``FIDE does not have a world championship in blitz chess but this could change,'' said Mr. Koya who is also the president of the Commonwealth Chess Association. "We have often considered the blitz as just a sideshow, a fun event played at the end of the majors in a holiday atmosphere, but now we have realised that it offers a lot of exciting possibilities. We could even have the FIDE world blitz championship soon,'' he said.

Two years ago, Viswanathan Anand won the Plus GSM World Blitz Cup in Warshaw, prevailing over a strong field. And a few months ago, Georgia's Ana Matnadze won the first European women's blitz championship in Turkey. Slovakia's Sergei Movsesian is the European men's champion. For long considered the dessert to the main course, blitz's popularity is clearly on the rise.

Tapping talent

Coming back to India, the AICF plans to work at the grassroots aggressively. "Wipro is supporting chess in a big way. We will soon have the Wipro Young Super Genius tournament in 25 cities all over the country for under-16 children. Slowly, it will be expanded to 100 cities and around 5,000 children are expected to take part. That way, we can spot and groom new talent,'' he said.

Also, the country's first National Chess Academy with residential facilities for players, will be officially inaugurated in April-May in Kozhikode this year. It will active throughout the year with weekend tourneys and blitz games.

Plans are also on to market the sport attractively. "We want to build a marketing and media team to package and promote the game nicely. And we want to show the next National `A' live on the internet."

But despite its impressive growth, chess is not likely to become an Olympic sport in the next few years. "I don't think it will become an Olympic sport soon, not even in the 2008 Games in Beijing.

There could be problems too. If we enter the Olympics, we may have to stop the Chess Olympiad which will be detrimental to the cause of chess. The Olympiad is played on a very big stage with nearly 2,500 players and officials. I don't think the Olympics can support such a big crowd these days,'' said the FIDE vice-president.

Despite churning out many world and Asian champions year after year, the AICF still has not been affiliated to the Indian Olympic Association.

``We have got a lot of support from the Government, the Sports Ministry and the SAI, chess is now a priority sport and the results are there for all to see. And if we get the IOA affiliation, the sport will surely grow bigger. Children and students will benefit and we will have many more big champions.

``We could even become the top country in world chess in a few years,'' said Mr Koya.

Time we picked up a few quick lessons from blitz chess.

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