Sachin reveals his fascination for chess

"Chess was very much played at our house. I played a lot of chess with my brother (Ajit), but without good results. Chess started in my family with my uncle. He also wrote a book on chess and was part of the chess federation," said Tendulkar at a function in Mumbai yesterday to announce the 14th International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) Chess Olympiad for the Blind and visually impaired. The tournament will be held in Chennai from August 9 to 19.

Blind chess administrator Charudatta Jadhav (right) holds cricket star Sachin Tendulkar's hand during a function at a Mumbai hotel to announce the Chess Olympiad for blind and visually impaired to be held in Chennai from August 9 to 19. Pic/ Pradeep Dhivar

"I am proud that India is the first Asian country to host the Chess Olympiad for blind.

For me, these people are heroes of the country and I would suggest others to follow in their footsteps. We should provide these chess players with better facilities and help them produce greater results," urged Tendulkar.

Tendulkar also revealed that his 13-year-old son Arjun was an avid chess fan before he got hooked to cricket.

"A few years ago, my son also started playing chess. He became quite serious about the game and we even organised chess classes for him. If any of my friends or visitors came to meet me, Arjun would make them play a game of chess with him first and then allow them to do whatever work they had with me.

"He was in full flow but you know how kids like to keep changing their likes and dislikes. He moved from chess to WWE and later to football and cricket," added Tendulkar.

The Olympiad will feature 25 international masters, 5 international women masters and 120 world chess federation rated players from across 30 countries.u00a0