The advent of the Internet and the advancement in information technology in general have democratised chess coaching in India. It is also easier for players of this generation to lay their hands on chess coaching manuals. For instance, a young chess player in a corner of Tamil Nadu can access the chess database, which a grandmaster has at his disposal, with the click of a button.

But India’s first international master Manuel Aaron says district players continue to face hardships. “One can’t dispute the fact that Chennai has the best facilities to learn chess. Even though district players can stay in touch with their coaches online these days, there is nothing like learning in person. The availability of qualified coaches and the number of tournaments make Chennai the ideal place for young chess players,” he adds.

Even cities such as Tiruchy and Coimbatore lack the facilities that the Tamil Nadu capital boasts of. The situation in Madurai is somewhat better as the city has a chess culture. Like Velammal in the city, there are a few schools in Madurai that encourage chess players. Deepan Chakravarthy, a resident of Madurai, fought against the odds to become a GM.

S. Sujatha, a former national level player, says even Deepan had to travel outside his native place to reach his goal. “Deepan and his two cousins stayed in Bengaluru to train under IM Raja Ravisekhar. But the big question is how many young players can move to a different place to learn chess. It is even more difficult for youngsters who also want to focus on their studies,” she adds.

Sujatha, who has been following the careers of players from districts with interest over the years, says no city in Tamil Nadu can match the facilities available in Chennai. “The main problem for district players is when they progress to the higher age category after winning titles at U-10 and U-11 levels. The competition is fierce as one moves up the ladder” she points out.

The Internet may have brought chess lessons to the drawing rooms of players in far-flung areas of the state, but district players have to battle poor connectivity and power shutdown every day. Even buying a chess CD is quite a task for them. In Chennai, it is possible to get CDs through a phone call.

Besides coaching, there are also other issues that pose problems to district players. The headquarters of the state association and the all-India federation are located in Chennai. “It is easier to get railway concession forms in Chennai. In districts it’s a frustrating process. For example, a Coimbatore player has to get the form from Salem, which is the closest division headquarters. I also feel that the encouragement for chess players is better at Chennai schools,” Sujatha adds.

Srija Seshadri (Neyveli) and P.V. Nandidhaa (Namakkal) have done districts proud through their achievements in recent times. Srija, the reigning Asian U-14 champion, and sub-junior national champion Nandidhaa are at a stage of their careers where they need expert coaching.

The Namakkal girl travels to Chennai frequently to train under GM R.B. Ramesh. “Srija hasn’t been able to come to Chennai regularly as we want her to concentrate on her studies as well. Shifting our residence to Chennai is not possible as her father has a non-transferable job at Neyveli,” Srija’s mother, Geetha, says.

IM K. Murugan and A. Pavanansam are well-known coaches at Neyveli but they are not able to impart individual training to Srija. “They have been very supportive to Srija ever since she started playing chess. But they are hard pressed for time as they are coaching many other children. Online classes have been suggested to us but I feel interactions with the coach are important for Srija to get her doubts cleared. One more problem is the paucity of practice partners in a place like Neyveli. Srija doesn’t have a competitive player of her age here, so she doesn’t have the opportunities to evaluate her game consistently,” she adds.

According to Sujatha, in Chennai practice partners are available for a fee.