I have read the press note issued by Samir Salgaocar,
President of the Goa State Chess Association(GSCA),
the contents of which will leave an extremely bad
taste in the mouth and show the association in
extremely poor light.
Unlike most other sports associations which are
mismanaged, the GSCA is one of the better run ones
and I had literally sung the hymns in awe of Samir
Salgaocar while speaking to a friend of his just a few
days back, for all the good work he has been doing as
its President. To my utter shock and disbelief, the
President now drops this bombshell.
In the said press note, Mr. Salgaocar has criticized
Mr. Barves so called outburst against the All India
Chess Federation (AICF) and has even gone to the
extent of convening a meeting to discuss the same. I
am not a professional chess player but am an avid
chess enthusiast, I do follow the game closely and, as
a member of JCI St. Inez, we regularly organize Chess
Tournaments for school children. Though I do not know
Mr. Shrikant Barve personally and never had the
opportunity to meet him, I remember, on one occasion a
couple of years back, when we had an unpredictably
huge response of participating children for our
tournament and we did not have enough chess boards to
meet our requirement, we called up Mr. Barve who
instantly obliged without even a second thought.
Mr. Barves contributions to Chess in the city are
second to none. Today, any avid young chess enthusiast
will have the name of the Taleigao Chess Academy on
his or her lips. If my memory serves me right, there
were close to 300 children in the most recent
tournament that the Academy organized in the
International Center at Dona Paola, such is the magic
and hype he has managed to create and the impact he
has on the game in the State today.
The contents of the press note will surely raise a few
eyebrows and will make one wonder whether we are
really living in a democratic country or not, whether
we really have democratic set-ups in our institutions
or not. Mr. Barve made a few observations on the game
in his independent capacity, which is his due right as
a sportsman and more importantly as per the
fundamental rights of freedom of speech and free
expression that he enjoys as a citizen of India.
In fact, he has hit the nail right on its head when he
has pointed out the glaring disparities between
cricket and other sports, in this case Chess. Isnt it
a fact that on the International arena, the
achievements of our cricketers would pale in
comparison when compared to those of our Chess Players
like Vishwanathan Anand or even our own 8 year old
Ivana? And if Mr. Barve wants the Chess Coaches and
Players to earn more money, what, may I ask, is wrong
with that? Isnt this a sincere demand made having the
interests of the players at large? Has the power of
office gone to Mr. Salgaocars head to such an extent
that he thinks he can take away the fundamental rights
vested to every citizen by our Countrys Constitution?
Or do we see some hidden agenda here, the stink being
kicked up for some other reasons? Is Mr. Salgaocar,
who presently occupies an important post in the
present managing committee of the AICF using this
incident to boost his own image in the eyes of his
bosses in the AICF, as he has his own eyes set on
the highest post? Is Mr Salgaocar singing these tunes
for his own supper?
Having said this, I have no problems whatever, if the
meeting is being convened to discuss issues other than
the ones I have mentioned above, as I have not yet
applied my mind to the same.
Cheers
Sandeep Heble
Panjim-Goa
____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
