Mary Ann has won the gold at Asian Junior meet

By comfortably winning the gold in the Asian Junior Championship and getting her second Woman Grandmaster norm in the process, Mary Ann Gomes has proved she is the face to watch out in Indian chess. The Calcutta girl now needs one more norm to seal the WGM title.

A product of The Telegraph Schools’ Chess Championship, she got her first norm earlier this year in April in the National Women’s A meet in Visakhapatnam. She narrowly missed getting her second norm in the World Junior Championship last month and went on to finish sixth. She went on to win the bronze in the World Youth Championship in the U-18 girls’ section.

Mary Ann spoke to The Telegraph immediately after the final round in her usual friendly, unpretentious way. “Though I was disappointed missing my norm in the world junior meet, I am very happy that I got it here. I only wish my father was here. He had accompanied me to Delhi but had to leave mid-way as he was down with viral fever.”

Ever since Mary Ann switched to Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy earlier this year from Goodricke National Chess Academy she has made rapid strides. “I am thankful to Dibyendu Barua for helping me analyse my games. I think my middle game is much better now,” she said.

Mary Ann’s repertoire earlier was limited to a few openings. But she has broadened her repertoire and now plays anything from e4, d4, c4 and Nf3 which keeps her opponent guessing. “I have worked hard on my openings and am happy that I have excellent practice partners in Bitan Banerjee, Deep Sengupta, Arghyadip Das to try out my new openings,” informed Mary Ann.

“I also want to thank Nisha Mohota for gifting me her laptop.” Mohota, the only other WGM from the state, had gifted her laptop to Nisha when she acquired a new one.

“Mary Ann’s strength lies in her ability to work her way through the most adverse positions on the board. She is a naturally gifted player who does not just rely on opening theory. Her understanding of the game is good and she calculates well,” said coach Grandmaster Barua.

“I believe she will scale greater heights if she gets sufficient opportunities to play strong tournaments here or abroad. I am trying to look for a sponsorship for her,” added Barua.

Despite all her achievements, organising funds for her trips is a constant source of worry for her father Charles. “Before the World Junior, I had applied to the State Sports Council, but I am yet to get anything from them. I am grateful that I got Rs 10,000 from Dibyendu Barua Chess Foundation before Mary went to play these tournaments” said Gomes.

Her next stop is Mumbai where Mary Ann will be playing the Commonwealth meet from November 20. “I am looking forward to the Commonwealth as it would give me a good opportunity to get my final WGM norm,” added Mary Ann.

When asked about her future plans, Mary Ann said: “I believe in climbing one mountain at a time. I want to get the WGM title first. After the Commonwealth meet, I plan to take a break from chess for four months as I plan to sit for my school leaving exams in March, she informed.

MARY ANN’S ACHIEVEMENTS

Played her first The Telegraph Schools’ Chess Championship at 6 years in 1996

National U-9 girls champion in Ahmedabad, 1998

Asian U-10 girls gold medal in Ahmedabad, 1999

Second in National Junior girls (U-19) at the age of 11 years in Chennai, 2001

Qualified for Women’s National A in 2002 in Pune

Asian U-20 bronze medal in Sri Lanka, 2002

National U-15 girls champion in Calicut, 2003

National U-15 boys fourth in Calicut, 2004

National Women’s B champion in Calicut, 2004

National U-16 Super League champion in 2004

National U-16 girls Rapid champion in Calicut, 2004

World U-16 girls 5th in Greece, 2004

Asian U-16 silver in Iran, 2004

Asian U-16 girls champion in Uzbekistan, 2005 (WIM title)

Member of the silver-medal winning team in Asian Team Championship in Iran, 2005

National Women’s A 2nd in Bangalore, 2005

National Women’s A 2nd in Vishakapatnam, 2006 (14 games — first WGM norm)

World Junior Girls Championship 6 th in Armenia, 2006

National U-19 meet 2 nd in Delhi, 2006

World U-18 Girls Championship bronze in Georgia, 2006

Asian Junior meet gold in Delhi, 2006 (9 games — second WGM norm)