Chennai: K Jennitha Anto of Tiruchy won a gold medal at the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) tournament in the Czech Republic recently. She is planning to come to Chennai in November to watch the Anand-Carlsen world championship match. “I have never met Anand. It would be inspiring to watch his games,” the 26-year-old said.
Jennitha herself is an inspiration to many because she is completely paralysed except for a little bit of action on her left hand. Polio struck her when she was three years old but she never bowed to the limitations it imposed on her.
The gritty girl’s stellar achievements offer hope not only to physically challenged people in general; they have the power to motivate everyone.
While the International Women’s Master is trained to use a wheelchair, the lack of facilities at many places for disabled persons in India forces her father and coach G. Kanickai Irudayraj to carry her.
“After my father met with a road accident three years ago, I wasn’t able to go for outstation tournaments. I started to play again this year and I am delighted that I could win the IPCA gold medal, which helped me get the IWM title directly,” said Jennitha, who has a rating of 1961. The title has also given her direct seeding to play on the top board for IPCA at the 41st Chess Olympiad for Women in Norway next year.
The young woman has so far taken part in two Olympiads and missed a bronze medal narrowly on the fourth board in 2008 at Germany.
“I missed an opportunity to win a medal after drawing a must-win last round,” said Jennitha, who in her second Olympiad played on the top board for the IPCA team. “I met a lot of higher rated players and my 5/11 score earned me the women candidates master title in 2010.”
Jennitha’s biggest achievement before her Czech high was winning a bronze medal for the disabled women at the European Chess Championship in 2009. In India, she has been competing in open tournaments. Jennitha’s notable scalps include IWMs Y. Prathiba and P. Priya. She has earned draws against WGMs Sowmya Swaminathan and Padmini Rout, and GM R. R. Laxman. Her best performance at the state level was a second place in U-14 and U-15 girls’ championships in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
Introduced to the game by her father at the age of nine, Jennitha, who has 90 percent disability, has progressed gradually to reach where she is today.
The commerce graduate is also equally driven about her academic career. “I want to become a chartered accountant. Right now my concentration is only on chess and I would like to become a grandmaster. I am going to work single-mindedly for the next few years to get the GM title,” said Jennitha, who gives motivational talks at schools and colleges.
“Nick Vujicic a Brisbane man who manages to get by in life despite having no arms or legs is my inspiration. I tell people that we should be happy with what we have and not regret for something that we don’t have,” said Jennitha, who is grateful to her family for their support throughout her life.
Irudayraj who retired as head master at Panchayat Union School in 2005 drew strength from his work. “There was a lesson on how disabled persons achieve in sports and that motivated me to teach my daughter chess,” he said.
Jennitha, who practises chess for six hours a day, is also longing to come to Chennai to get advanced coaching. “Until a few years ago, I used to take her regularly to IM Raja Ravi Sekhar in Bengaluru for coaching. But after my accident, we have stopped travelling to Bengaluru. Further, we are also short on funds. Sponsorship would help Jennitha achieve a lot more in her career,” Irudayraj added.