Chennai, July 26 (UNI) Braving the threats of chess officialdom, Sanskrit teacher Chandra Ramani has been organizing the Solar Chess Club chess tournament continuously for the past 28 years without any interruption. The tournament is held in memory of her grandfather Dharma Kesari Solar K.S. Subramaniya Iyer, termed by the city’s older chess players as the “Father of Madras Chess”. If Madras, which is now Chennai, is the cradle of Indian chess, a good amount of the credit should go to the Solar House or Solar Chess Club which was located on South Mada Street in the Mylapore locality. It was from the Solar Chess Club or Solar House that many chess players emerged in the 1970s who later strengthened the foundation for the game’s growth in the city with the formation of Mikhail Tal Chess Club.
Musing about the challenges she faced over the past 28 years in holding the chess tournament, Ramani said during the eighth edition of the tournament, Tamil Nadu Chess Association officials had tried to put a spanner in the event by threatening to ban the young boys and girls from participating in the event.
