Kids’ stuff

Kid’s champion champion stuff
Thursday January 3 2008 17:03 IST
Pavitra Srivatsan

SHE’S all of six years old and barely reaches your knee, but Muthyala Bansi Prathima is already taking giant strides in the Chess world.

At an age where sitting still is probably the toughest thing to do, Bansi has shown signs of intense concentration, which could probably put many adults to shame.

When the World Champion, and a former child chess genius himself, Viswanathan Anand met this tiny tot at a function in the city last month, he was pleasantly surprised to see someone so young playing chess.

“When Anand met my daughter, he could not believe how small she was,” smiles a happy MB Muralidhar, Bansi’s father. Bansi started playing chess when she was just five years old, and her coach, Ganesh, says that she’s a world champion in the making.

“When I show her different moves, she follows my instructions without getting distracted. And our practice schedules go on for eight hours,” he says. And Bansi’s father chips in, “For someone so young that kind of a concentration requires a lot of effort and is quite a gift.”

The six-year-old is currently sixth in the all-India Under-7 rankings, after her performance in last year’s nationals. And get this, she’s the State champion already in the Under-9 category! That means she’s eligible to defend her title for the next two years at least.

Her participation in the 2007 World Youth Chess Championship held at Antalya, Turkey, got her a special ‘Young Talent for the year 2007’ gold medal. However, it’s Bansi’s family and relatives who help with trips abroad to take part in international tournaments.

But the lack of sponsors has not deterred her parents. “I would not mind at all if my daughter decides to make chess her career,” says Muralidhar.

Here is the full article.