How Velammal Education Trust created nine GMs in Indian chess
From 66 GMs in India, a single educational trust is responsible for the creation of 9 grandmasters! Velammal Education Trust has done a yeoman service to the sport of chess. Adhiban, Sethuraman, Shyam Sundar, K. Priyadharshan, Karthik VAP, Karthikeyan Murali, Aravindh Chithambaram, Praggnanandhaa and D. Gukesh are nine GMs that have studied in Velammal school. Apart from them the school also boasts of having players like Leon Mendonca, Arjun Kalyan who will soon become GMs and also strong female players like Vaishali, Rakshitta, Savitha Shri, Varshini and many others. How is one single trust able to create so many chess champions? We decided to dig in a bit and reveal to you the secret of Velammal's success!
Velammal: The Group of Schools Supporting Chess beyond Measure
Mention the names Adhiban, Sethuraman, Shyam Sundar, Karthikeyan, Aravindh, Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Priyadharshan, Karthik VAP, Vaishali, Monnisha, Varshini, Rakshitta and Savitha Shri to a discerning Indian chess fan and chances are that he or she will tell you that they are all renowned players from Tamil Nadu, but did you know that all these players have more in common than just their place of origin? They have all studied at Velammal, a group of educational institutions founded in Chennai and now spread across the state. If there is any one single family of schools that has had a major impact on the future of chess in India, it is the Velammal group.
Brief History
M V Muthuramalingam established the first school at Mugappair in Chennai with 183 students and 13 staff members in 1986. The school was named Velammal Matriculation School after the woman who inspired him – his mother Velammal. Since then, the group has ballooned to 56 institutions in Chennai, Vellore, Karur, Theni and Madurai and is administered by the Velammal Educational Trust with Mr Muthuramalingam as its chairman.
Association with Chess
Support for chess began 15 years ago courtesy of MVM Velmohan, a correspondent of the trust who is also a vice president of the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and adviser to the Tamil Nadu Sports Committee. According to Mr Velavan, the chess-in-charge for 10 Velammal schools in Chennai, excellent results from students in both chess and academics led to the trust’s support for the sport in the form of free education, financial help, moral support and more.
Velammal Educational Trust (VET) is also active in the organisation of tournaments ranging from district and state championships to national-level events and even international ones! Notable events organised by them include the 45th National ‘A’ Championship in 2008, the 38th National Women’s Championship in 2011, the 2nd National Schools Team Championship in 2013 and the International WGM Round-Robin tournament in partnership with All India Chess Federation in February 2019.
Impact on Players
India’s fourth-ranked player, GM B Adhiban, reminisces about his days at Velammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Mogappair as having been the most memorable two years of his school life. As a class 11 and 12 student there in 2008-09, not only did the school sponsor his trips abroad but he also received cash incentives for his performance at the 2008 World U-16 Youth Olympiad in Vietnam. If that wasn’t enough, after a warm reception at the airport for winning the world title, he was taken on a victory lap around the school campus in a horse-drawn chariot like the true hero that he was for his fellow students.
Grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali, India’s national champion in 2015 and 2016, was offered free education at Velammal International School, Panchetti for two years after which he transferred to Velammal Matriculation in Mogappair where he studied from grades eight to twelve. Describing the support he received, Karthikeyan had this to say: ‘Success of a person is a combined teamwork. In this case, school has played a vital role for me. They would grant me leave for a whole of 7 months to play and I would attend school 2 months just before the board exams. I would get notes from my friends in school and try to look after that whenever I had time during tournaments. Velammal School helped me very much to pass those exams.’
For Aravindh Chithambaram—who became a minor celebrity during the first Anand-Carlsen World Championship match in November 2013 when as a 2335-rated FM (FIDE Master) he won the Chennai Open ahead of much higher-rated grandmasters—the motivational words from his school’s management, teachers and friends helped him in a big way to accomplish what he has achieved till date. Like Karthikeyan, he, too, was a student of Velammal Matriculation in Mogappair where he studied from the ninth to twelfth grades. The school supported him with plane tickets, free education and a flexible attendance schedule so that he could focus on becoming a better player. When he finally became a grandmaster, the Tiger of Madras, Vishy Anand, was invited by the school to felicitate Aravindh.
In the case of Gukesh D—who recently became the world’s second-youngest grandmaster—his school played a bigger role in making him the prodigy that he is. The 12-year-old’s entire chess journey began at Velammal Vidyalaya’s Mel Ayanambakkam campus, where, as a first standard pupil, he enrolled for chess as an extra-curricular activity and soon took a keen interest in the game. The school trainer, Mr Bhaskar, noticed his talent and became Gukesh’s first chess coach in 2013. As Gukesh’s prowess grew and he began winning local tournaments, the school started recognising him with banners featuring his photo and by awarding him on the dais in front of his peers during assemblies. The school’s support has also extended to inviting sporting greats such as Viswanathan Anand, Chris Gayle (cricket), Mary Kom (boxing) and Saina Nehwal (badminton) to felicitate young achievers during school functions.
Lavishing praise on the school management for their support, Gukesh’s father Dr Rajinikanth said, ‘When he became IM last year, School correspondent immediately sanctioned cash award also without us asking. Again this January they arranged a grand reception at Chennai airport and press meet on his return from Delhi where he became the second youngest GM ever and has assured us more support. They have been very accommodative and flexible and also very curious and interested in his progress just like me and my wife and we are very much thankful to them.’
Velammal’s impact on chess hasn’t been limited to players from Tamil Nadu alone. Three years ago, Leon Luke Mendonca moved from Goa to Chennai just for the sake of his chess career so that he would have better access to his coach GM RB Ramesh and also to benefit from the support provided by Velammal schools. Since making the move, the then CM (Candidate Master) has been part of the winning team twice at Russia’s annual Belaya Ladya (also known as White Rook) international scholastic tournament, while representing his new school, has achieved his International Master (IM) title and now has also crossed the 2500 Elo mark.
In his own words, the 13-year-old classmate of Gukesh attributed part of his success to support from the school saying, ‘The school has given me and my chess mates what no other school in India has. They have given us part exemption from regular attendance and examinations. The Principal and staff are always available and ever willing to help out. Our team has consistently won the Gold at both the National and International levels and are looking to achieve the same in June for the 3rd consecutive year!!! The school has sponsored these trips to Russia for the past 2 years.’
Chess v/s Studies
With all the concessions being made by the trust management to support chess, isn’t anyone concerned about the impact on the players’ education? According to Mr Velavan, the chess-in-charge for Chennai schools, the Principal and teachers help them by conducting special classes so that they can have a balance in both sports and academics.
While the school does all it can to help players manage their chess and studies effectively, parents and players understand that sacrifices have to be made for progress in chess. Dr Rajinikanth, Gukesh’s father, confirmed this saying, ‘Till 2015 he was regularly attending school and chess and was in fact school topper that year. He was also making good progress in chess and then we had to take a tough call to put more effort on chess as it needed extensive training time to sustain and progress further. After discussion with school authorities we settled for special classes and schedule for school and concentrate more on chess. Now after he became GM it’s going to get tougher to progress further and manage education at the same time and we are still in dilemma but as of now we have decided to put more emphasis on chess for another a year at least and see where he stands by the time he reaches 10th standard.’
International Master Leon Mendonca affirms this view and mentions how his parents have dealt with it: ‘It is quite impossible to excel in both so I have to date focused on chess and my studies have honestly taken a back seat. I try to study whenever time permits. It is obviously a huge risk indeed that my parents have taken investing almost everything into chess and compromising on my education but my regular achievements keeps reassuring them.’
On the other hand, players like Karthikeyan had no trouble balancing studies and chess. When asked how he did it, this is what he had to say: ‘Chess is purely a mind sport. When I saw those school books, I felt very easy because I could understand everything because of what I got from chess like concentration, memory, understanding etc. So it was not so difficult for me to manage my studies. I played tournaments and studied then and there when I had interest. Before 2 months, I was fully into studies and during those time, I couldn't follow chess much. I scored 95.8% in my 10th standard and 95.5% in my 12th standard. So, you can see how much chess has helped me to balance both itself and studies!’ On how his parents handled this, he added, ‘My parents never put pressure on me regarding my studies. During chess tournaments, they often forget about my studies because I have to concentrate on chess. They just asked me not to have tournaments before 2 months of board exams. Initially, my school asked me to write 9th standard exams and based on that performance, they agreed to grant me leave. I scored 85% and they were very happy to grant me leave during my 10th and 12th standards.’
In a time when ever-increasing competition is forcing schools, teachers, parents and children into spending more time learning, Velammal Educational Trust’s chairman MV Muthuramalingam has a refreshing philosophy on education: ‘When I see a student, I see him/her filled with an abundance of great potential. I believe if a child does not fare well in academics, he/she surely has some other potential. It is our duty to discover that talent and mould every child into an achiever. Besides academics, sports, extra-curricular activities, vocational skills are also given equal importance in my institutions. Success and failure may come and go. The essence of living is to remain motivated.’
Maybe it is this philosophy that is helping Velammal schools to churn out one chess prodigy after another without compromising on their formal education.
Other links
Official website of Velammal Education Trust
