Chennai: Though chess has thrived during the pandemic by going online, a top FIDE official has said it will not remain an online sport and normal over the board events will start once the situation improves worldwide.
Grandmaster Emil Sutovsky, Director General of FIDE (world chess body), said that “once the situation gets better, we will think of having over the board tournaments by following all the necessary precautions.”
He said this while speaking at a webinar-“Chess in times of COVID-19-Challenges and opportunities” organised by Maharashtra Chess Association and AICF.
“The coronavirus crisis has brought a setback to all activities. Most events have stopped. The biggest mistake will be to just sit and wait, chess could go online and it should capitalise. We should get more and more people to join chess.Online chess is booming. We also have to balance it properly, so that it doesn’t remain an online game, Need to strategise how to resume after the crisis,” he said.
According to FIDE chief, India was a key partner in the growth of chess and added that there was a need to popularise the sport at the school level.
He hailed former world champ Viswanathan Anand, who was also present at the webinar, in the growth of chess in the country. “It was Anand, who put India on the (global) chess map. Before that, we couldn’t understand India would be a great chess country. Now India is one of the powerhouses in chess. India should be proud of its chess fraternity…We have to encourage more people to play chess, through a strategic partnership.”
In his address, Anand, said, “the most significant thing to happen in 2020 is that we are overcoming the psychological barrier of making things online. Chess has been playable online for decades, but we are better prepared now. People are open to the idea of doing things online, we should be open to utilise it fully.”
He added: “We should be open to hybrid options. We should be flexible and experiment a lot. We are open to more possibilities. We have to see how that can help organise more tournaments.”
Indian no.2 Vidit Gujrathi and woman Grandmaster Soumya Swaminathan were also present.