21-year-old Eesha Karvade says she did not receive a single congratulatory call from sports officials after her recent win at the chess tournament, International de Paris 2009

Pune's own Eesha Karvade (21), the only girl from Maharashtra to become an International Masteru00a0 following her win over Yaroslav Zherebukh at the recently held chess tournament, International de Paris 2009, is upset that she has not received a single congratulatory call from the state sports ministry.



Karvade, who is ranked 83 in the list of women grandmasters internationally and stands at the 17th spot among Asian women grandmasters, reached the stipulated 2,400 rating at the international tournament. "When I became a grandmaster in 2007, Laximikant Deshmukh, the then Maharashtra sports director, had assured me that I would be sent to a coaching camp and my tournaments would be sponsored. However, I have not received a single call from any state government officialu00a0 to congratulate me after my win," said Karvade.

Costly affair
"Training in chess is a costly affair and when a player reaches this level, coaching expenses can be as high as
Rs 3,000 a day," said Dr Sanjay Karvande, Eesha's father.

Her mother Dr Shubhada Karvade, told MiD DAY, "Eesha's primary training started when she was in Std V and with just one year of coaching, she reached the national level. We decided then that she would focus on chess as a career option. It was clearly a sound decision."

Dr Shubhada added, "Her focus improved after she started training under Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte."

Added Eesha, "When grandmaster Kunte is in the city, I make it a point to practice with him for three to four hours a day."

Training
Kunte explained that the going gets tougher as one reaches higher ranks.

"After one becomes a grandmaster, the player must train to develop new ideas and make them work on the board. The more experienced you are, the more capable you become of sensing danger. Practicing with her helps me as well," said Kunte.

Next goal
"My next goal is to reach a rating of 2,450 in the next six months at the Women Team Championship to be held in China. Kunte described Karvade's strongest point as her will power. "She is a true fighter who maintains her cool even when she is in a winning position," Kunte said.