Why Chennai is the chess capital of India!

It was going to be one of the most intense training session ever. Eleven grandmasters had enrolled for the training camp with Jacob Aagaard in Chennai. Apart from it there were strong IMs and legendary women players like Vijayalakshmi, Meenakshi and Aarthie Ramaswamy!

According to Jacob,"Although the level of the players at the session was very high, it was the easiest one for me to conduct because the players understood everything that I wanted to convey. It was like talking to a group of friends who understood a common language."

Most of the positions given to the participants weren't so tough. They were simple, but not easy. And many times we mistake simple things for being easy. Here's an example:

Adhiban had quite a tough time cracking the puzzles. One would imagine that a player of his calibre would breeze through the problems. However, he wasn't able to solve quite a few. While this would have disappointed many players, Adhiban's positive attitude stands out, "This session clearly showed that I have a lot to improve. If I could finish third at Tata Steel with my current level, you can only imagine what I am capable of when I get better!" Jacob was thoroughly impressed with Adhiban's approach and predicted that he would be one of the top ten players in the world very soon!

Jacob would give the sheet of problems to the students which consisted of six positions. And while they are thinking he would correct the answers that were already written and discuss if anyone had gone wrong. This helped him to give personal attention in a group class!

When it came to spotting little tactics, Ramesh was really good. After day one ended Jacob asked me, "Who do you think was the best solver today?" I guessed a few names starting with Karthikeyan, then Aravindh, Vishnu so on. With a smile on his face Jacob said, "It was Ramesh! I gave him the wrong sheet, he solved all the six positions, took the correct sheet and solved the next six as well! All this he did when others were still solving the first sheet!"

Technically the training session had already ended. But Aagaard always likes to deliver more than he has promised. Hence, he invited all the players to another three hour session of calculation! But in order to take a small break and refresh themselves, the players indulged in Hide and seek.

Evening open session

The evening session which was open to everyone for free was at Bala Vidya Mandir school in Adyar. It was arranged by the Chennai District Chess Association (CDCA).

You can buy a copy of the New in Chess Magazine with Adhiban on the cover and autographed by him from the ChessBase India shop for just Rs.500. For more details read this article.

The Indian leg of the journey for Jacob Aagaard's lectures had come to an end. Next up - Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand! Stay tuned for the next article!