`Chess a stimulant, perfect cure for depression’

He quotes two great chess players Tarrasch and Alekhine to hammer in his belief

.“A person is a fool if he is totally ignorant of chess, like the pleasures of love,” Dr Surveyor quotes Tarrasch. “Alekhine said: Chess is among the most intellectuallystimulating activity if not the most.”

Though the doctor does not play any more, he studies the game on a regular basis. “Even studying the game stimulates me,” he says.

With the National Correspondence championships not being held for several years, Dr Surveyor is busy setting up a new body The All-India Correspondence Chess Federation of India. He had won the title when the championships were being conducted by the earlier body the Correspondence Chess Association of India.

He recalls his playing days. “As the tournament progressed, my sleeping hours would decrease. Some days, I would barely manage two hours from 4.00 am to 6.00 am before heading for the hospital. Some nights I would not sleep, analysing games through the night!”

The triumphs over the years have given him another title the best analyser of a given position. And his analysis takes him deep into the game. Like the time he spent 40 hours over a single move. “The opponent was Ramanathan from Mysore. Another player, HJSamtani, and I were neck-and-neck in the race for the title. I needed a win against Ramanathan and the move that he gave me was a draw. So I sat through on a Saturday afternoon, the whole of that day, the next day (Sunday) before finding a win late in the night.”

But his passion has one peril. The game gets adjourned if it does not get over in the stipulated period. “The game then goes to the expert and he may not understand the position always and grant your opponent a win when a draw is a sure result. To avoid this, I have sometimes not chosen the best alternative as it may prolong the outcome. I have compromised on best move so that the result is faster.”

Though correspondence chess, like the ongoing Garry Kasparov vs World match on the net is impersonal, some of the participants manage to add to it a personal element. “In addition to their moves, some players write abuses, some poetry. Many reveal their disillusionment, some talk about having attempted suicide,” he says. Dr Surveyor has a pieceof advice for all those comtemplating suicide play chess. “You learn how to avoid the traps. You find a way out of your troubles.”

Correspondence Chess — The format

Sixteen players qualify for the Nationals. To qualify, a player must compete in the National B where the top four players from the three groups qualify and they join the four seeds from the previous National championships.

A player has to make a move within three days. A day is counted when you receive a letter in the afternoon and send his move by 4.00 pm the next day. If he sends the reply by the same afternoon, he saves all his three days.

In effect a player has to send and receive ten letters from one player each month. Of course, he plays 15 players simultaneously over several months! One tournament lasts over a 18-month period.