Dubai student's grand dreams

Dubai: For Dubai-based chess ace Ikrom Ilhomzoda, convincing his father currently seems a lot more difficult job than achieving Grandmaster status, or so he believes. The Canadian University of Dubai student has his next few years planned out, but first he has to get his parent’s nod about taking up chess as a career option.

Currently No. 2 in his home country Tajikistan behind the country’s lone Grandmaster Farrukh Amonatov, the 19-year-old telecommunications engineering student told XPRESS why he is shelving plans of moving to Canada, at least for the moment, after finishing his studies.

“The reason why I joined this university is because I wanted to have Canadian education and go to Canada after that. I can still go to Canada and be a chess player and earn enough to make a living, but my long-term goal is to be a Grandmaster. My Dad wants me to concentrate on studies first, so it will be a tough job convincing him that I want to take up chess as a career option,” he said.

And in order to execute his plans, Ikrom, who has an Elo rating of 2217, wants to relocate to Chennai, India after completing his course next year.

“I am an International Master and I want to give at least one year to just playing chess and try to become a Grandmaster. But for that to happen I need to play in at least two high-profile tournaments a month. Now that is not going to happen either here or in Canada. India is really big on chess with so many Grandmasters and so many major tournaments. So, playing tournaments in India and also travelling to other parts of the world with Chennai as base would give me a lot more exposure. You need to play against Grandmasters to become one yourself,” he added.

Chennai is also home to five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand and Ikrom believes the Indian Super GM is by far the best player out there right now. “Anand was the favourite in the tie-breaker against [Boris] Gelfand anyway. He’s definitely the best player of the last decade,” he said.

This June, Ikrom will head home to compete in a national tournament. If he finishes in the top five – something he is sure will happen – Ikrom will represent Tajikistan at the 40th Chess Olympiad, which is being held in Istanbul, Turkey, from August 27.

“To represent my country and to compete against the world’s best chess players would mean the world to me. If I finish first in June I could get the opportunity to play one of my chess heroes – English Grandmaster Nigel Short.”

Ikrom, who was introduced to the game by his grandfather when he was four, first met Short in Dubai in December 2008 while the teen was considering which university to attend.

“Nigel Short was taking part in a chess exhibition at the Shangri La hotel just across the road,” he recalled. “There was a simultaneous chess game and I was one of 60 players who played him [at once]. I had the most amazing time of my life.”

Ikrom has received great support from his university where he also organises tournaments regularly. “They are so supportive of what I do. There is so much enthusiasm for the game here,” said Ikrom.

So, what happens if he doesn’t become a Grandmaster in the time-frame he has given himself?

“I am going to give it my best shot in the one year I will be living in Chennai. If it doesn’t work, it won’t be the end of the world, but I would consider it a failure on my part,” he said.