The MSSA’s 43rd inter-school chess tournament got underway at St Sebastian High School, Chembur, on Thursday with a record number of participants — 3,037 players from 100-plus schools. Some of the kids were overwhelmed at seeing the huge gathering.

“I feel nervous. It will be tough to win the tournament given there are so many players, but it’s good to have competition,” Raj Nimbalkar, 10, a player from The Scholar High School, told mid-day.