Veteran player pens book on chess

Chess is the most intellectual of all sports. But, Kerala, which has always prided on its intellect, hadn’t produced any major chess talent for decades.

Except for N.R. Anil Kumar, who played for India at the Chess Olympiad in 1982, Kerala’s presence in India’s chess scene was minimal for decades. There was also A. Sasidharan, an immensely gifted young man — capable of playing brilliantly spectacular games — who committed suicide, reportedly because he was unable to get a job.

But, times have changed. Many players in Kerala have found employment on the basis of their achievements on the chessboard. The State has now two Grandmasters, several international players as well as a little world champion in Nihal Sarin.

So the release of veteran chess-player-turned-author P.V.N. Namboothiripad’s book, Chessinoru Patapusthakam , could not have been timed better.

Running into more than 800 pages, it could well be the most exhaustive book on chess ever written in Malayalam. “The book is the result of my work over the last 10 years,” Mr. Namboothiripad told The Hindu on Saturday. “I always felt that there was a need for such a book in Malayalam. We haven’t too many books that look deeply into chess.”

The book, published by Kerala Bhasha Institute, discusses various technical aspects of chess and features an exhaustive collection of games with diagrams. This is the third book on chess by the Kochi-based author, who turned 80 this year.