Gassed Up

World Junior Champion Pentyala Harikrishna recently bemoaned his economic status. According to this note, he was granted five lakhs by the his regional government. (That's around 14,000 Tunisian dinars. But I think five lakhs beats a flush.)

He has now been "adopted" by Gas Authority of India Limited and hopes to work with Anand's long-time trainer Elizbar Ubilava. (Nigel Short is mentioned in another report.) There's more in the Hindu. Individual sponsorship is nothing new in chess, not even by large utility companies. Peter Leko has long been sponsored by RWE Gas in Dortmund.