NIIT MindChampions Academy- Chess Master 2008, South Zone winners felicitated by World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand
- Goutham S from Bangalore with an International
Chess ranking of 1469 and Ch.Spandana from West
Godavari adjudged as the winners
Chennai, January 12, 2009: World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand was in town to felicitate the winners of South Zone Finals of the NIIT MindChampions Academy- Chess Master 2008. Goutham S from Geethanjali Vidyalaya, Bangalore with an International Chess ranking of 1469 and Ch. Spandana from Gattuvari Gudem Govt High School, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh emerged as the winners for South Zone. NIIT MindChampions Academy is a joint initiative of NIIT, a leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia’s No. 1 Trainer and World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand to initiate young minds into the World of Chess.
Mrs. Subala Ananthanarayan, Principal, Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School joined World Chess Champion & NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand and Mr L Balasubramanian, President, School Learning Solutions, NIIT Ltd. as Guest of Honour and gave away prizes to the winners of South Zone.
The South Zone level contest witnessed widespread participation by nearly 4280 students from over 794 Government and Private Schools spread across 4 states. The record participation was made possible due to matches being played over the internet from district level onwards across the Zone. This allowed schools even from the remote areas where NIIT has been working with state government schools as well as private schools to educate and train the kids in use of ICT, to enroll for Chess Master 2008.
According to Mr. L. Balasubramanian, President-School Learning Solutions, NIIT, “The response to NIIT MindChampions Academy- Chess Master 2008 has been overwhelming this year. The Academy is aimed at motivating and encouraging the young talent as we are committed to the development of these young minds both in the game of Chess and in academics.”
At the Zonal finals conducted, 4 NIIT MindChampions (state level winners) from schools vied for the coveted slot for competing in the finals. The winners from the South Zone got an opportunity to play simultaneous Chess with the Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand.
Felicitating the winners of South Zone, Viswanathan Anand said, “It is a proud feeling to see these young children actively take part in Chess Mater 2008. I congratulate both the winners for wining the NIIT MCA South Zone Final Championship and wish them a bright future ahead.”
“I am confident that the excellence and determination that these young children have displayed will help them perform well in academics as well. It is heartening to see that NIIT MindChampions Academy has reached huge number of children across the country to initiate them into the game of Chess,” he added.
Winners of the South Zone Finals of NIIT MindChampions Academy Chess Master 2008 will represent the zone at the National Finals. The National winner will be awarded by the World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand at a mega event for National Finals in New Delhi on January 17, 2009.
The NIIT MindChampions Academy has provided platform to the young Chess players like Karthikeyan Murali who was sponsored by the academy for the All India Chess Finals at Ahmedabad in August 2008 and other competitions to improve his FIDE rating. His current rating is 1780 and he stands 40th out of the 210 participant at the national level.
Launched in 2002 with an objective of initiating students into the world of Chess, NIIT Mind Champions Academy has today fostered nearly 6351 chess clubs with more than 7,45,000 students cumulatively since inception, as its members in schools where NIIT offers computer education. World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has personally travelled to Agartala, Guwahati, Raipur, Patna, Hyderbad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and other cities across India, spreading the message and motivating the school students to start playing. NIIT MindChampions Academy conducts an Annual Chess Tournament, known as Chess Master for these school children across 16 states in the NIIT network. Chess Master 2008 was flagged off by NIIT Mind Champion Viswanathan Anand in New Delhi and simultaneously in 11 other cities through NIIT Imperia’s Synchronous Learning Technology in May last year.