‘Chess is our gift to the world’

Hungary kya Is a question that is being met with a resounding ldquoYes for chessrdquo after India won a double gold in the Open and womenrsquos section of the Chess Olympiad in BudapestIt has fuelled the fire in aspiring masters such as 10yearold Dhyan Vora from Juhu ldquoI was following the Chess Olympiad religiouslyrdquo he says excitedly ldquoand was really scared when India was playing China It was so closerdquo D Gukesh is Dhyanrsquos favourite player ldquoI want to play the Nationals and these players keep inspiring me to do betterrdquo says the Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School CNMS Vile Parle student who spends at least twoandahalf hours at the board dailyDhyan loves cricket too ldquoMy favourite cricketer is Yuzvendra Chahal as he is a chess player too who has represented Indiardquo he said of hook and rooksgoing togetherPrisha Kesarwani 13 started playing when she was five years old PicsAditi Haralkar right Kush Bhagat 15 has taken a gap year from his school to try for an International Master title this yearDhyanrsquos mother Neha explains how her son got into the mind game ldquoDhyan started playing chess during the COVID19induced pandemic His grandmother is a very good player and introduced him to the game Though so young at the time the game sparked interest which transformed into passion and it has been a journey of milestones from then on He played the State Selection for U11 in Kolhapur and will now move on to the Nationals Besides daily practice he plays a tourney every Sundayrdquo Neha recalled how ldquoWatching the Chess Olympiad became a daily ritual for us Our fervent prayers and loud cheers carried on from our Juhu Cross Lane home all the way to BudapestrdquoDhyan goes to the Indian Chess School in Peddar Road founded by Praful Zaveri The latter teaches chess to children aged seven to 14 years Praful who likes to go by his first name sees Indian chess hit the high water mark today ldquowith our sensational Olympiad double goldrdquoPrafulmdashwho was nominated coach of the Indian Youth Chess Team at the Asian Schools Taiwan in 2014 World Schools Thailand and Asian Youth South Korea the year after at the World Cadets Brazil 2017 and Abu Dhabi Masters in 2019mdashbelieves these massive wins springboard significant developmentPraful Zaveri coach Indian Chess School PicNimesh DaveldquoThis should spur schools across the city to include chess as a regular subject in the curriculumrdquo he says ldquoChess classes are usually an afterschool activity It should become mainstream maybe as an optional subject but a proper subject nevertheless that finds its place within regular classes and school timingsrdquo Praful said this lsquomoversquo pun intended will ensure ldquothat children cut their chess teeth in school give us a wider talent pool and chess will also be accorded the seriousness of a subject in the school syllabusrdquoPrafulrsquos words of chess lsquowhizrsquodom are encapsulated in eight chess manuals he has written titled The Chess Course ldquoThe key takeaway from this Olympiad win is the confidence the players displayed emanating from solid pretourney preparationsrdquo says the Borivlibased teacher on an upbeat note ldquoHuge practice play a disciplined approach meant our teams were lasersharp going into Hungary There was a lot of optimism amongst chess followers too given that we came very close in the past two Olympiads winning a bronze medal Gold was missing from our kitty Today it is here signed sealed and delivered itrsquos a tsunami of celebrationsrdquoWhile the Olympiad is sure to give the game a huge fillip parents and coaches stress the game has huge positive spinoffs beyond titles and trophies They were unanimous in citing how it teaches logical thinking a quality useful on the chessboard of life Praful added that the Budapest bravo shows ldquois something to be very proud of not just for Golds but as a reminder that chess is an Indian game It is in our roots and our gift to the world The game showcased our intellectual power and with this domination in a way we are reclaiming our legacyrdquoDhyan Vora 10 started playing chess during the pandemic and has competed in the state selection for U11 in KolhapurPrachi Kesarwani from Andheri W is one of those parents who advocates for chess because of the logical thinking and sound decisions it enables children to takeHer daughter Prisha a 13yearold at Arya Vidya Mandir School in Juhu is a rated player in all three formats of the game She has a glittering array of medals and trophies lined up and the Olympiad gold has cemented that decision to stay in the gameldquoThe journey began when Prisha was fiverdquo says Prachi ldquoShe would play with her elder brother and we were struck by how she could sit and concentrate for two hours straight at that age Then she started playing for threeandahalf to four hours When our chess journey truly began with practice and travelling to tourneys my career had to take a back seat But it is all worth it The Olympiad golds have come at the right time We are halfway through our journey and at the right page in the book Sometimes it is challenging to balance academics and chess though the school is accommodating and encouraging We are not leaving the game for surerdquoPrisha was ldquoamazed by the accuracy of our Indian playersrsquo games in Budapest The neversaydie attitude and eventual medal have motivated me to excel The consistency maintained throughout the tournament by Gukesh D Divya Deshmukh Arjun Erigaisi and Vantika Agarwal has taught me the importance of perseverance and dedication My favourite game of the tournament has to be the one between Gukesh D and Wei Yi which taught me a very important lesson Stay toughrdquoGukesh showed huge talent while making extremely accurate moves under pressure His resolve try till the last to succeed fired me up with energy and enthusiastic about every single gamerdquoPrisha also noticed the camaraderie of the team saying it pushes her to do her best ldquoThe dream is of courserdquo she says ldquoto one day wear the national colours and contributing to our countryrsquos legacyrdquoWith the scene becoming so sunny we may need shades just to talk about it This increases avenues for coaches and trainers too ldquoThis can be a viable option now as a professionrdquo says coach Balaji Guttula ldquoPost playing professionally players get coaching and teaching opportunities Now someone who has invested so many years in the game can stay connected to itrdquo Speaking specifically about Hungary he adds ldquoLook at the ages of the players Most of them are teenagers a product of coming through the system where the competition is extremely fierce in lower age categories such as seven to nine That is the fruit it has bornerdquoKush Bhagat 15 who is coached by lsquoBalaji sirrsquo has taken a gap year from his extremely supportive American School to try for an International Master title this year ldquoI will be playing in Hungary and Norway in the coming weekrdquo says the Mahalaxmi resident ldquoThe shadow of our recent wins falls long on the chessboard I was especially struck at the phlegmatic clinical manner of the wins That mental strength calmness is a key takeawayrdquoKushrsquos mother Shilpa adds ldquoTitles medals are for the trophy case Chess builds grit and character which spills over onto all facets of life In India there is the tendency to quantify things for instance I put this much into it in terms of sacrifices financeshellip What do I get in return I think we need to steer away from that Kushrsquos school is openminded and yet taking a gap year is an immensely courageous decision I am so proud of himrdquoRunning through all these accounts are some commonalities The time to be a chess player fan aficionado follower is now India may start building its champ arsenal if the game is a regular school subject as it is in ArmeniaTherersquos cutthroat competition in the lower age groups and that test of fire makes fine steel lsquoPawnrsquoography is not a bad thing and the desi game is moving to its zenith in the land of its birth Move over Mr Michael Jackson India proves it matters if itrsquos black or white