Chess activities have been buzzing online ever since the COVID-19 lockdown began. The tournaments that are being conducted through online platforms chess.com and lichess.org by the academies have kept the players busy.
Significantly, these tourneys have been attracting a good number of Grandmasters. “Online tournaments during lockdown is a wonderful initiative. Players do not have to worry about lack of practice,” said GM R.R. Laxman, who takes part in the online events regularly.
He felt that the tournaments provide up-and-coming players a good chance to compete with Grandmasters and higher-rated players. “You get to learn more only when you play. In these times, the online competitions are a boon,” he said.
Different timings
“The duration, which is for a minimum of one hour, varies between tournaments,” explained international arbiter V.L. Anandh Babu of the Lesunathan Chess Academy.
“In most cases, players are allotted three minutes each for a game. The person with maximum points emerges victorious. In the event of players finishing on equal points, tie-breaker methods decide the winner,” added Anandh, whose academy has so far conducted around 50 tournaments during the lockdown period.
“Rarely do budding players get the opportunity to compete with GMs. This is one main reason they expect us to conduct more online events,” said S. Ganesh Babu, secretary, Golden Knights Chess Academy (GKCA).
He said GKCA has also been organising intra-academy tournaments. “We have students here and abroad. Apart from attending classes online, they also compete among themselves with interest,” added Ganesh Babu, an international arbiter.
Laxman said that he comes across a lot of promising talent during the online competitions and believes that the exposure they gain now will stand them in good stead once regular tournaments resume.
And the arbiters could not agree more.
