JOIN USPatience, perseverance and passion – all three qualities combined to ensure that M S Thejkumar became Karnataka’s first Grandmaster (GM) and India’s 50th.
The 36-year-old had completed his mandatory three GM norms way back in 2008 but touching the Elo 2500 mark, another technical necessity for the title, proved elusive. Two back to back victories on Tuesday, at the Fomento All India FIDE Rating tournament in Goa and finally Thej had reached his destination -- the 2500 Elo mark.
It was way back in 1988 that Viswanathan Anand became India’s first GM and the fact that in almost 30 years, just 49 more have made it to the GM club indicates that the journey is by no means easy. For Thej, it was a frustrating at times but with the support of his wife, he ploughed on. What is commendable is that despite being tantalisingly close to the title and missing it for eight years, Thej maintained his playing strength and rating close to Elo 2500, as a slide down the rating ladder might have seriously jeopardised his chances.
Thej perhaps had an inkling on his birthday on the first day of January that this was going to be a special year for him and his spirits had soared after winning the Liffre Open in Paris last year with a commanding and commendable 8/9 score.
The spring was back in his step, the bite back in his chess. An employee of South Western Railway, he was a member of the Indian Railways team which won the World Team Railway Championship last year.This year he suffered a setback because he had to withdraw from the National challenger on health grounds but nevertheless had garnered three points from there. Three tournaments in Sri Lanka in the last four months saw him amassing 25 points and today there was an air of anticipation and expectation in Goa when he took his seat and he did not disappoint.
During his journey, Thej perhaps stagnated too much around the 2200 Elo mark but last year, he took online coaching by Ukranian GM Aleksander Golaschapov, a move which has helped him.
“This is a new beginning for Karnataka chess,” said Arvind Shastry, Secretary of the United Karnataka Chess Association”.