SAKYASEN MITTRA
The legendary cricketer Sir Richard Hadlee had a motivational chart pasted on the inside of his coffin (that is how cricketers refer to their kit bag). One of the points in that chart said: “Dream and visualise big. If you dream you are 100 per cent successful in whatever you try, then in real life you will achieve 70-80 per cent success.”
Orissa’s upcoming chess talent Smaraki Mohanty dreams big… real big. Whether she will be able to turn half of her dreams into reality, only the future can predict. But at the moment, she is on a high and a youngster – confidence personified.
“I want to be a Woman’s Grandmaster (WGM) within the next three years,” stated Smaraki, sitting at her residence in Niladri Vihar in Bhubaneswar.
Looking smart in a black top and matching leggings, the 17-year-old has a smile that can charm anybody. But one doesn’t miss the steely determination in her voice as she talked about her future plans.
Smaraki won the ‘open’ title in the recently-concluded State Women’s Chess Championships at Kendrapara. “My current Elo rating is 1,841 points and my first target is to take it to 2,100 points as quickly as possible. Then I will get a title like International Master or Women’s Candidate Master. Once that happens, I can really gun for the WGM title,” Smaraki stated.
Sitting in the sparsely decorated drawing room, Smaraki informed that she started playing chess when she was in class four in 2007. “You can say my father is my inspiration… he also plays chess. I learnt the basics of the game from him. Then I started training at the SR Patnaik training centre. Currently, I am coached by Sekhar Chandra Sahoo and Manoj Panigrahi,” informed Smaraki.
Her father Bhabesh is a chess arbiter and that has helped Smaraki a long way in pursuing her dreams. She has also got substantial support from KIIT, IFFCO and Nalco. Bhabesh also pointed out that his friends have always chipped in to help whenever there has been a financial crunch. “But then KIIT’s role has been very influential. They have not charged anything for her admission or education and I am thankful to Achyuta Samanta for that. Also on a number of occasions they have helped whenever, she has had to travel,” informed Bhabesh.
As the topic of discussion once more turned to Smaraki’s chess ambitions, the sprightly lass stated that she admires the playing styles of Padmini didi (Rout), Debsahis bhai (Das), Swayams bhai (Mishra and Sekhar Sir. “But above all, Debashis bhai inspires me the most. He is very hard-working and I want to be like him only,” Smaraki stated.
Like any other Indian chess player, Viswanathan Anand is her idol, but Smaraki is quick to point out that she likes Magnus Carlsen a lot. Is it because of the Norwegian’s handsome looks or for his chess? Out comes the girly giggle and Smarkai stated that Carlsen ‘as a package’ is awesome. “I like his aggressive style of play, his looks… plus he is a model. He is simply awesome,” gushed the youngster who is currently pursuing a diploma course in Engineering.
Smaraki trains five to six hours a day, but in spite of that, father Bhabesh stated that she is not putting in enough efforts to pursue her chess ambitions properly. “She needs to work harder. If she does so, then she has the talent to become a very good player,” stated Bhabesh. His daughter also agreed to the fact, promising to work that much harder in the days to come.
But then does she take any specialised coaching before tournaments? Bhabesh stated that they cannot afford that luxury. “I find out the players participating in the event I am playing, I analyse their games and prepare accordingly,” stated Smaraki, while adding that her opening and middle games are strong but she needed to improve her endgame.
Other than chess, Smaraki is a music buff and has a passion for modelling. Kailash Kher and Shreya Ghosal are her favourites while her all-time favourite movie is ‘Mary Kom’. “That movie is an inspiration. It has shown that if you work hard, everything is possible,” stated Smaraki.
Well that is exactly she will have to do to fulfil her dreams. Work very very hard indeed.
