Tamil Nadu State Government felicitates players with 1 crore 98 lacs cash award
The state of Tamil Nadu has been the strongest state in Indian chess for a very long time. It has the highest number of GMs - 24 out of the 70 GMs of the country so far. On Thursday 7th October, Tamil Nadu State Government felicitated 14 players of their state who have won Gold in FIDE Online Olympiad 2020, FIDE World Teams 2019, Bronze in FIDE Online Olympiad 2021, along with the newly minted Grandmaster, Woman Grandmaster and International Master. This monumental acknowledgement of the efforts will definitely boost the spirit of the hardworking players, coaches and parents. It will also encourage the upcoming talent who are striving for the best. Photo: CMO Tamil Nadu twitter
14 players rewarded by Tamil Nadu Government
On Thursday 7th October, Tamil Nadu goverment awarded cash prizes to 14 players from the state for various achievements from winning Gold at the FIDE Online Olympiad to a Bronze medal triumph at the recently concluded FIDE Online Olympiad 2021. The Chief Minister handed over the cheque of Rs. 20 lacs each to four Gold medal-winning players at FIDE Online Olympiad 2020 - GM Vishy Anand, GM Aravindh Chithambaram, GM R Praggnanandhaa and IM R Vaishali R. The team coach and vice-captain GM Srinath Narayanan was given Rs. 12 lacs.
"It was a great gesture. I am sure that the players will get a lot of motivation from the TN govt's support" - Vishy Anand.
"Indeed, it is a great honor for us. Within one month after winning Olympiad 2021 we, the chess fraternity got due recognition. This will attract so many people to choose chess besides academy. One day chess will grow parallel with cricket in our country. Thanks to Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu" - Rameshbabu.
Vishy Anand, B Adhiban, Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali and Savitha were given a cheque worth Rs 10 lacs each for winning Bronze medal in the FIDE Online Olympiad 2021. Coach of the men's team, GM Srinath Narayanan received Rs 4.5 lacs and coach of women's team GM Shyam Sundar M received Rs 3 lacs. Adhiban also received Rs 20 lacs for winning Individual Gold in the FIDE World Team Championship 2019.
"Hey, it was a great and nice surprise! Now that we know we get recognized for our achievements, it is an extra motivation! I remember the times when even winning a Bronze medal in the Olympiad only brought us disappointment when we applied for it in 2014. But things have changed so much that we got this in less than one month after completion of the event!" - B Adhiban
"It was a pleasant surprise! Definitely a turning point to many sportspersons in TN. This initiative will be a huge motivation for the younger generation and bring more laurels to the state and our nation. Heartfelt thanks to CM Stalin Sir." - Shyam Sundar M
"First of all, it's a proud moment when I met the Chief Minister. It's always special whenever I go to the stage to grab a reward for doing something remarkable and also it motivates me to do my best. It's pleasure to meet CM and it was a dream comes true for me also I wanna thank team coach Srinath Anna for giving me this golden opportunity." - WIM Savitha Shri B.
Rs.5 lacs each were given to P Iniyan for becoming Grandmaster in 2019 and for Srija Seshadri, V Varshini and P V Nandhidhaa for becoming Woman Grandmaster (WGM).
The Chief Minister also handed over the cheque of Rs 3 lacs each for V S Rathanvel and Pranesh M for becoming International Masters in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Some tweets by Tamil Nadu CMO and players
Tamil Nadu CMO
Vishy Anand
B Adhiban
Srinath Narayanan
Shyam Sundar M
Savitha Shri B
