Interviews

I Gel well with Nigel

All India Chess Federation Vice President, Mr. Ravindra M. Dongre was elected as the deputy President of Commonwealth Chess Association on the final day of the chess Olympiad. Mr. Rahul Shetty asked him few questions on his future plans and his views on chess in India.

Rahul Shetty >>  Accept my congratulations on behalf of CPAI for being elected to this prestigious post. What do you think will be impact of this on Indian Chess?
R M Dongre >> Thank you very much. I think India will be benefited greatly as we will try our best to hold more Commonwealth championships in India and this will mean better exposure to Indian players and chances to win more medals.

Rahul Shetty >> what are your plans for commonwealth countries?
R M Dongre >> I Gel well with Nigel and together we wish to promote Chess in a big way in the commonwealth countries. We wish to encourage more GMS/ IMS to participate as from this year commonwealth would not be open event and would be restricted to commonwealth countries only.

Rahul Shetty >> what would you like to say about India’s performance in the current Olympiad considering we were the 2^nd seeds?
R M Dongre >> It was obviously very disappointing as we really hoped to get a medal this time. But let me clarify one point that we were 2^nd seeds merely on paper because only the rating of top 4 players were considered while giving seeding. If you consider the reserves as well, there are 8-10 teams better than India. Secondly the conditions were extremely bad as compared to Calvia Olympiad, if you consider food and staying arrangements. But without giving excuses lets say lot of things went wrong.
 Anand was a mere shadow of himself and this did not do the confidence of Indian players any good. He was obviously very tired as he came directly from a grueling tournament (Mtel masters). Besides the preparation for this Olympiad was not as one would have liked it to be. From next time AICF will put more efforts for training of our team. Preparation for tournament like Olympiad should begin at least 6 months in advance and there should be intensive camp with foreign coaches.

Rahul Shetty >> Do you think the involvement of foreign coaches is too much in Olympiad and one should set boundaries and clearly define as to what one expects from these coaches?
R M Dongre >> I guess there can be some line drawn as to how much a coach is expected to do and they may not have a total say on all the  matters in future.

Rahul Shetty >> in what way Mr. Koya’s fight is affecting AICF. Do you think he will continue to be nuisance in functioning of present body?
R M Dongre >> Mr. Koya obviously had a lot at stake with AICF and won’t give up without a fight. But our present team is good and will try to see that he is not able to hinder their day to day activity. Contempt of court case is on against him and also the charge of misappropriation of funds.

Rahul Shetty >> Chess seems to have made progress in last 10 years or so, but last year we took a step backwards due to politics and subsequent change of body. What are your plans to regain the previous tempo or even do better than previous body if one may ask?
R M Dongre >> CPAI was a pioneer of the revolution amongst Indian chess players against certain inconsistencies in the previous body. This lead to pressures from various quarters and subsequent dismissal of the previous body. During this struggle obviously development of chess took a backstage. And then Mr.Koya tried to allot commonwealth to his supporters but they were unable to hold it. Asian Individual again was hindered by him but our body still managed to hold it. Besides Commonwealth Championship. will be held in Mumbai in Mid November. SAI is supporting coaching programs and we can pick up youngsters in various age groups and give them proper training under foreign coaches.

 We should try to hold maximum international tournaments with norm prospects so that our players get proper exposure. Besides efforts should be made to sponsor some foreign trips for selected India players in various age groups.
 
 Nowadays some sponsors are coming forward Like CANARA BANK being exclusive sponsors for Indian team to Olympiad. Parsavnath, MTNL and ONGC are regular sponsors on the chess scene. In the private sector unfortunately many people don’t come forward and I hope this change with Complain showing some interest in promoting chess. 

Rahul Shetty >> The 10% deduction from prize money was the hot issue that burned the fingers of the previous body. When can we expect the money that was deducted during that time which AICF has promised to return back to the players?
R M Dongre >> Maharashtra was the only state that refused to deduct the 10% in support to the players. We already have got our money back from AICF. As for other tournaments I don’t have the full details and I urge the players to come forward and furnish the same to AICF so that get it back too.

Rahul Shetty >> I have been playing chess for about 20 years now and feel sad to say that Maharashtra which used to be one of the leading States in the country till about 10 years back, now don’t have many young players of promise coming up. What do you think has gone wrong and what do you plan to correct it?
R M Dongre >> The quality of coaching in our state has not been up to the mark. What we need is that promising youngsters should be identified and groomed through intensive training programs. This is what states like Andhra, TN, Delhi and Kolkata have succeeded in doing.

Rahul Shetty >> Finally what role do you envisage for CPAI in development of chess in the country?
R M Dongre >> CPAI should concentrate on major issues concerning the welfare of the chess players in the country. They can coordinate with AICF in a healthy manner to promote chess in a proper way in the country.