chennai at a time sporting activity has been hit hard across the globe due to covid19 pandemic chess is one sport which seems to keep ticking thanks to technology as online tournaments kept players busythere has been a spurt in the number of online chess events during this coronavirusforced lockdownafter the recent online nations cup fide world chess federation president arkady dvorkovich said the chess world was moving online which would help the sport reach its full potentialprominent players took part in the events on a regular basis while it was exposure for the upandcoming ones some players raised funds to fight against covid19 pandemictournamentsevents were conducted through online platforms chesscom and lichessorgfivetime world champion viswanathan anand in an earlier interaction with pti said that chess had adapted quite well during this global crisis by going onlineseveral indian grandmasters said the online tournaments kept them occupied grandmaster b adhiban and woman grandmaster d harika said online chess was helpful during times like the lockdown as it helps one stay in touch with the gamei like playing online chess as i feel quite relaxed and you can be very fast adhiban saidon her part harika said it is very good in these times when you are in a lockdowngm r r laxman who also took part in online events regularly said it is a wonderful initiative it provides players practice and opportunity to stay in touch with the gameonline tournaments provide upandcoming a players chance to compete with gms and higherrated players at such times the online events are a boon laxman addedhe said there was the added incentive of prize money alsorakesh kulkarni an international master and director at chesscomindia which has been conducting events regularly during the lockdown said organising online events was a different kind of challenge as it required to ensure fair gamesthe technical aspects are taken care by the websiteplatform so there is no human error for pairings results and standings arbitersumpires are also not needed he told ptibut the challenge is to ensure fair games and see that there is no cheating we have to ensure thorough checking to avoid computer cheating especially in cash events another aspect is to allow players to reconnect and rejoin if their internet gets disconnected especially in india he addedhe said it was difficult to compare across the board events and online tournamentsthe players enjoy online games as they can play from the comfort of their homes it is also faster than normal chess but there is very less rewardrecognition to win online than over the board events people love both for their own unique ways he saidkulkarni also said conducting online events helped organisers save costmany organisers are saving on costs like booking a venue setting up chess boards paying personnel chairstables and many more expenses organising an online event only requires marketing he addedveteran chennaibased arbiter v kameswaran said online tournaments had become a craze not only in india but all over the worldonce over the