For Deepan, it's bright light of glory at the end of tunnel

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

Visakhapatnam, Apr 10 (UNI) From Madurai to Visakhapatnam, the journey has been hard and long for India's latest Grandmaster Deepan Chakkaravarty.

For it is here in the city of Destiny that the teenager from Madurai made his third and final GM norm. He now needs only to increase his FIDE Rating to 2500 when FIDE would award him the coveted title of Grandmaster. Deepan comes from the Tamil Nadu which has been the ''Mecca of Indian chess'' and the journey which begins from now, one is sure that he will keep more dates with history.

Two months shy of nineteen years, Deepan showed the promise since his tender years. It was his father, who introduced Deepan to the chequered board when he was jsut six. Sadly his father, who dreamt of seeing his son in the pinnacle of chess glory, passed away just three years later.

However, his whole family rallied around him and his mother, Murugeswari, left no stone unturned to make her husband's dream come true.

Chess come's easily in his family, and one can confirm it looking at the results of Deepan and his sister Raja Surya (former Asian Under 14 Champion). Recently Deepan mother made the hard decision to keep his sister into academics and away from chess, purely for the economics of managing two talented children in the expensive arena of international sport.

And Deepan has vindicated his mother's faith with a string of stupendous performances this year. Starting with a month long coaching stint with Georgian Grandmaster Elizbar Ubilava in Spain, Deepan returned in time to participate in the ONGC Cup International Open in Hyderabad.

Sweeping his contemporaries off their feet, Deepan went into early lead after scoring an authoritative win over top seed Grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly.

Couple of draws in the end, pulled up his score, but he had enough to tie for the first and garner his second Grandmaster Norm, which added to his first one in Asian Juniors at Sri Lanka three years ago.

This first year Commerce Graduate student from Thiagarajar College Madurai continued his grand show in the 43rd National ''A'' Championship currently in progress in Visakhapatnam. His score of five victories and four draws in the first nine rounds propelled him to his third Grandmaster Norm and he completed the formalities holding GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly to a comfortable draw in the tenth round.

Deepan's climb in the international Chess has been steady and consistent and he is one precious talent that needs to be nurtured and polished to greater heights. One aspect that has hampered many an Indian sporting talent in the past, finance, is the big question mark that hangs around this young neck.

Philanthropists and Corporates would do well to scoop this talent and help him make himself and the nation proud with his performance.

UNI XR DH RAI2348

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