Accidental foray and a great career

For Aarthie Ramas wamy, chess hap pened by accident and possibly due to her sheer guts. Enrolling for a tournament when she was all of eight and couldn't tell a bishop from a rook, surprisingly enough, worked well.
“When I was in the fourth standard, there was a chess tournament in my school for which all my friends gave their names for participation.Since I didn't want to be left out, I too went ahead and registered.I had no idea what the sport was all about. Though I had seen my brother playing with his friends, chess did not hold my interest at all. I had only one evening to practise prior to the event and my brother helped me learn the basics. I was surprised to finish second in the tournament,“ reminisces Tamil Nadu's second woman grandmaster.
Had it been a poor finish, playing chess would probably have been no more than a stray attempt at an unfamiliar sport. Bagging second place, says the 34-year-old, changed her attitude towards chess.
In 1990, Aarthie played her first state tournament and finished second in the Under-10 category . Three years later, she captured her first national title when she won the Under-12 event. From then on, the chequered board turned her lucky charm. It was no longer just about winning; it was about sustaining her success blitz. Taking top honours in the Under-14 and Under-16 categories in 1995, Aarthie won her first Under-18 national title in 1998 and went on to clinch the Under-18 world girls' chess championship the following year.“The city used to offer tremendous tournament practice and the Viswanathan Anand effect on all players, both aspiring and professional, was huge and unmistakable,“ she says.
Weekend tournaments used to be played at the corporation ground in Nungambakkam, which now houses the tennis stadium. “In a small portion of the gymna sium, we used to play our matches. I visited the place a few years ago and nothing was the same. The Tal chess club, which used to invite Russian GMs, offered an amazing ambience for the sport. It was a delight to play with the typical Russian wooden chess pieces. Our joy , though, was short-lived with the club closing down soon,“ says Aarthie.
Married to Grandmaster R B Ramesh, who was also her coach through her playing days, Aarthie feels chess is inextricably linked to the soul of the city , one that has not diminished with the passage of time.
The couple's 10 year-old daughter Varsha plays chess at the state level and harbours ambitions of breaking into the big league. “We just want her to enjoy what she does.Success, if it has to, will eventually follow,“ says the beaming mother.
(A weekly column on famous sportspersons whose first playing field was Chen nai and its neighbourhood)