The Swiss King of India
By Praful Zaveri
The First Smt. Hirabai Salgaocar All India Rating Chess Tournament was held
at the Clube Tennis De Gasper Dias, Miramar Beach, Panjim, Goa, India, from
August 6th to 13th, 2006. It was an 11-round event with a total prize fund
of Rs 111,000 (€1,880 or US $2,390). The first prize was Rs. 33,000, 2nd
22,000, 3rd 11,500, etc. up to 15th Rs 1000.
The event was a sensation because it was won by the newest Indian chess sensation,
D.P. Singh, who has scored a hat-trick by winning the Raisoni Nagpur, the Adyar
Times Chennai and now the Smt. Hirabai Salgaocar. He finished ha clear half-point
ahead of GM Sandipan Chanda in a very strong field of 235 players, consisting
of one GM, 10 IMs and two age-group world champions.
IM Diwakar Prasad Singh, rated 2377, India's Swiss King
There are two reasons as to why the First Smt. Hirabai V. Salgaocar Memorial
All India FIDE Rating Chess Tournament generated tremendous enthusiasm amongst
the chess fraternity of India. The first and the foremost was the participation
of the two members of the current Indian team at the Torino Olympiad, GM Sandipan
Chanda and IM D.P. Singh; and secondly, the tournament was held at Goa, the
most preferred destination of the foreign as well as the Indian tourist, renowned
for its exotic pristine beaches and sea food.
While it was expected that the championship would be toss-up between GM Sandipan
Chanda and IM D.P. Singh, none had expected the latter to just stream-roll
the field. And that is exactly what he did, with some fantastic and fearless
display of chess. He remained unbeaten with a score of 9.5/11, and amongst
the scalps was none other than that of GM Sandipan Chanda, which DP won in
the 9th round from the black side of the Four Knight's Defense!
With this win, IM D.P. Singh has now annexed three back-to-back FIDE Rating
Tournaments in India, in the span of just one month after the Chess Olympiad
in Torino. These wins must surely have erased some the painful memories of
the forgettable debut at the Olympiad, when he had just one game to show against
Morocco in the first round. The rise of D.P. Singh in Indian Chess can really
be considered meteoric. He has won more than 75% of the tournaments he had
participated in during last two years, and he is the only player after GMs
Anand, Ganguly and Harikrishna to secure a berth in the Indian team on debut to the
National A Chess Championship.
I asked him before the concluding round when he though he would achieve the
GM title. His reply: "I just need three GM norm tournaments. That is all!"
Well, nothing looks impossible now for this "Swiss King of India"!
Final Rankings
|
Rank
|
Name |
Score |
|
1 |
IM D.P. Singh |
9.5 |
|
2 |
GM Sandipan Chanda |
9 (57) |
|
3 |
Umakant Sharma |
9 (56) |
|
4 |
M.S. Thej Kumar |
8.5 (54) |
|
5 |
Sriram Sarja |
8.5 (50.5) |
|
6 |
IM Atanu Lahiri |
8.5 (50) |
|
7 |
IM Dinesh Kumar Sharma |
8 (52) |
|
8 |
IM Abhijit Gupta |
8 (49.5) |
|
9 |
IM Himanshu Sharma |
8 (48) |
|
10 |
Abid Ali |
8 (47) |
The games from this event are not yet available. We will provide them
if and when we get our hands on them.
Picture gallery
Goa is a state on the west coast of India, on the Arabian Sea. The capital
is Panjim, the largest city Vasco-da-Gama. It was founded by Portuguese merchants,
who landed in Goa in the 15th century and made it a "Portuguese overseas
territory". The area was invaded by India in 1961 and became a state of
the Indian nation.
Goa has a population of 1.3 million, about half of which live in urban areas.
The literacy rate is well over 80%. Hinduism (65%), Catholicism (30%) and Islam
are the three main religions. Roman Catholicism came during the European colonization,
specifically with the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. During the Goa Inquisition
Hindus were forced to convert, and thousands who refused were imprisoned.
Goa is internationally renowned for its beaches, which are visited by hundreds
of thousands of foreign and domestic tourists each year. It has has become
one of the most popular holiday destinations for European travellers. Besides
beaches, Goa is also known for its world heritage architecture. It has rich
flora and fauna, owing to its location on the Western Ghats range, which are
classified as a biodiversity hotspot.
The 600+ km journey from Mumbai (Bombay) to Goa is simply breathtaking
I bet you won't find a better waiting room on a station than this one!
Even the stations have gardens! This is Karmalli Station in old Goa, the
entry point for Panaji
We have reached Panaji, the capital of Goa
A warm welcome from Sameer Salgaocar (with the FIDE bag!), the Vice-President
of AICF, who is behind the success story of Goan Chess
The venue of the tournament "Clube Tennis DE Gaspar Dias"
The awesome 'Miramar Beach' just opposite to the venue of the tournament
'The Miramar Circle' on the beach front
'Dona Paula', the famous water retreat
A Catholic-Christian statue at the Dona Paula
Beach and palms – the climatic conditions in August are simply fantastic
Football under the palm trees. This former Portuguese colony still retains
its craze for Football You will find budding Ronaldos and Figos everywhere!
An open-air market near the beach
The dedicated Sameer Salgaocar and his team at work during the tournament
GM Sandipan Chanda: "Where did I go wrong?"
IM Rahul Shetty – a picture of concentration
IM Dinesh Kumar Sharma
Former Commonwealth Champion IM Atanu Lahiri
And "The King" – IM Diwakar Prasad Singh
My pilot Gaibu Patel taking me for a paid ride! Goa is perhaps the only
city in the world with this form of public transportation. There are more than
1000 pilots in Goa. The motor bike is the most preferred form of transportation,
if you are alone. The 15 kms ride from Panaji to Karmalli Station is just 80
cents.
The imaginatively constructed passenger bridge at the Karmalli Station
The train is arriving, it is time to leave beautiful Goa
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