MUMBAI: IIFL Investment Managers, India’s largest wealth management firm concluded the fourth edition of its EKA Mumbai International Chess event on Monday, with over 800 children under the age of 13 participating in the competition.
The company’s chief client experiences officer Ronak Sheth confirmed that the participation numbers are 25% rise from last year, which saw 600 participants from India and abroad battling it out. Sheth gave credit to tournament director Praful Zaveri’s vision back in 2014, making the initiative reap rewards now.
The total prize money for the 2019 chess tournament will increase from Rs. 3 million to Rs. 5 million, with the next mission being to determine a world-class female Grandmaster.
SportzPower took the opportunity to interview Sheth to find out more about EKA, IIFL Investment Managers’ CSR initiative that is also into tennis and golf.
Q. How did the concept of EKA come about?
A. EKA is a product of our CSR strategy which was developed when we knew that 2% of our profits from the last three years are to spent in this regard as per the government mandate. As a 10-year-old company, sports was a collective hobby and a way for employees to bond courtesy intra-level competitions. The employees’ average age has been between 30 and 35.
Our CEO Karan Bhagat has been a squash player at the state level and his son has won many chess competitions. With ‘youth’ and ‘investment’ being our buzzwords, it all came together for the first time in 2017 when we chose chess, tennis and golf as the sports for developing young, competitive talent. Our USP lies in ensuring that we create an international style and level platform where Indian kids feel fearless and confident while competing against overseas kids of the highest quality.
As a matter of fact, back in 2015, ours was the first ever chess tournament in Mumbai which was played in an air-conditioned arena. We at EKA were extremely fortunate to have the resources and Zaveri’s passion of improving Indian sport, which has made us confident in investing in the future of the country.
Q. How crucial was Zaveri’s role in bringing international chess competitors to India?
A. Zaveri was always keen to build a platform for chess. So his expertise for the knowhow of the game blended beautifully with the help we received from our HNI (high net worth individuals) clients both domestic and internationally to enable us in hosting a tournament of global repute.
Q. What are the reasons behind choosing chess, tennis and golf specifically for EKA?
A. The only reason we went for this trio of sports is because they are popular enough for children to play them at a competitive level. Our efforts might not have paid off in a Formula 1-like sport, which may have global recognition but not the participation numbers. Our focus is clearly on giving junior level participants the platform to shine and use it as a springboard for future success at Asia and world tournaments in their respective age groups. The points accrued from our chess and golf tournaments are added to their world rankings, giving them an added incentive.
Q. Please elaborate on the talent scouting process IIFL undergoes in determining future champions.
A. There are two components to talent scouting. Firstly, when it comes to international competitions, we have a set plan for chess and golf. We are the official rights holders of the upcoming golf tournament, Golf Invitational Faldo Series India on 10 January in Noida. Out of 65 players, five winners will be chosen to go to play the Asia leg of the event as they had last year in Vietnam. This gives them priceless exposure.
Secondly, it is essential to support a sportsperson. For example, a blind chess player Aaryan Joshi has had his travel, stay, competition and training fees as well as other expenses covered by us since the last two years.
Q. Would the IIFL reward talented youngsters with employment opportunities in the firm for their financial security in the future?
A. Fortunately, the dynamics of competitive sport and not just cricket, has changed in India over the last 25-30 years. Earlier, sportspersons needed to have an alternate job to supplement and fund their career aspirations since the system wasn’t professional enough back then.
However, today’s children are far more confident, intelligent, focussed who have greater exposure to the world and are surely go getters. Today, there are many organizations and foundations outside the game that present enough opportunities for talented sportspersons, taking care of their financial aspect.
Talent speaks and pays the most. Plus, technology has changed sport completely and has given more career opportunities.
Q. How much would IIFL be open to taking the eSports and online gaming route to develop chess talent?
A. Many greats like Vishwanathan Anand have said that it is essential for aspiring, young chess players to strike a fine balance between playing on the board and online against a nearly perfect computer opponent. And I completely agree.
For online chess, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay since it is developing the game like none other and making the experience of playing more personalized. My recent visit to the Dravid-Padukone Centre of Excellence in Bangalore is a testament to this fact as technology is proving to be beneficial and a way of the future.
EKA had recently conducted an online ‘Simul play’ on Twitter with Anand, which was the first of its kind in India. This could be perceived as a small step for us to innovate more.
However, as of now, we have no plans to go the eSports route apart from this move that we had taken.
