Pics: Prajwal Ukkuda
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (TU/CN)

Mangalore, Dec 17: The two-week long 46th National ‘A’ Chess Championship – 2008 was inaugurated at Karnataka Bank Auditorium on Wednesday December 17.

The event is being organized by the South Kanara District Chess Association along with the All India Chess Federation and United Karnataka Chess Association. The tourney will conclude on Tuesday December 30.

Addressing the gathering, after inaugurating the national level-event, Ashok Hegde, general manager, Karnataka Bank, said that young talent of the country has been drawing the attention of the world towards India for the past two decades. ‘We have a good number of international masters and grandmasters in this nation,’ he opined.

Today, only intellectual skill can measure the difference between individuals. Chess is the only game which requires an IQ, he stated.

M S Gururaj, president, district chess association, said that they have conducted four national-level chess tournaments in a calendar year besides many state-level tournaments in the district. He added that such tournaments would be a boost to the chess talents of the region.

As many as 14 national qualifiers including eight international masters and six grandmasters are participating in the championship which is being held for the second time in the state. The first time, it was held in Tumkur in 1987, where world champion Vishwanathan Anand emerged the winner.

Jagadish Maliyar, assistant general manager, Karnataka Bank, Achutananda Reddy, president, UKCA, Gopalakrishna Bhat, former national ‘A’ chess player, Syble, and Lydia D’Cunha, were present.