Some dreams do come true

For Aditya Savalkar and his family, a junior Chess player from Kolhapur and a humble background, despite the common belief-talent and skills were not enough for success, Chess not being a spectator sport and the elite game tends to be very costly, in resources for professional training and more than anything to play in major tournaments that allows one to showcase their talents, often the entry fees combined with accommodation leave many like Aditya unable to participate despite possessing the potential and the merit.

With a current international rating of 1483 elo points Aditya has many titles to boast about his chess prowess, however the best of Adityas performance was his impressive 6th position in the 1000 plus odd chess players in the C category of India’s biggest rating chess tournament that concluded recently at new delhi. Where he showed the first signs of a great player in the making, fighting against all odds to achieve his goal.

                   Aditya savalkar in action at Nationals U-11,Chattisgarh

Even as the cabinet in Aditya's house overflows with trophies and medals there is one trophy which is missing from the colossal collection, the crown jewel of any Indian Chess player, a National's Championship, for Aditya however this is a distant dream as he has never been able to play at a Nationals tournament since he started playing in tournaments due to lack of funds and resources. And it has been his dream to sit in the hall of champions, since the day he moved his first Chess piece, inspired by his sister, mayuri who also plays competitive chess and has an international rating! Earning them the nickname as the chess siblings of Kolhapur.

   Aditya's sister, mayuri who also plays competitive chess and has an international rating! Earning them the nickname as the chess siblings of Kolhapur.

Aditya was initiated to chess by his father at the age of 6, after learning the basics within no time he soon beat his father, seeing the spark his parents decided him to send to the chess academy in their town since then he never looked back and developed into an ace player under the mentorship of dattaray more, today Aditya is a consistent junior chess player representing Kolhapur in the state and fide rating chess tournaments, “ we cannot afford to hire advanced coaches nor do we have any gadgets or chess softwares, we are grateful to Utkarsh Lomte Sir for overseeing his coaching. Everything he is doing today is because of his guidance and support, Aditya loves chess its his passion, but participating in tournaments outside our town is a cause of concern for us, must if the time the entry fee itself is unaffordable, not counting the travel and accommodation cost. Said Aditya's father who works as a peon in the Shivaji University.

To an extent Aditya supports himself grow in the game, after being a consistent and promising chess performer for his district, he has won the adulation of one and all especially the local corporator who gifted him with a laptop last month.

Needless to say Aditya's happiness knew no bounds, “ this would help me to develop my game further using the latest technology and distant online training. I have been waiting to have of these for me, every time I see other participants use software to analyse and improve their game” expressed Aditya, who idolizes none other than India’s chess luminary , V Anand.

This season, while the Junior Chess fraternity geared up for the most competitive and privileged competition in the country, U-11 nationals undergoing at Chhattisgrah one that is both the starting place and making ground of Chess legends in the country, Aditya had his own fairytale come true, when on witnessing his talent, passion and determination for Chess, I2V chess centre granted him aid to participate in the tournament, and became first hand witness to his and his family's absolute bliss.

          I2V Chess center,India providing partial scholarship to Aditya savalkar 

I2V chess center at mumbai’s commercial hub,nariman point is instituted by the 20 year old Mumbai based chess academy, South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA ) that is meant to aid students like Aditya, not only by bringing to their doors the best world class professional training but also providing aid to enter prestigious tournaments they cannot afford and with the support of generous corporate support, sponsors to boost their professional careers.

"Today's day is like a festival for my family, there is happiness and celebration all around, you hear of such things but you never think they can happen to you, I have seen my son's love for Chess and today is the best day of his life, we wish to thank I2V for giving him this chance", were the grateful and ecstatic words of Anjali ,Aditya's mother, who balances sustenance and her son's dreams between sewing clothes and accompanying Aditya to tournaments.

His coach Utkarsh Lomte said that despite having limitless potential and unrelenting determination and hard-work it's difficult for players not from big cities to get proper training with limited resources and they are further held back because they cannot perform in tournaments and that deprives them of essential experience and training. And Aditya has it in him to become a champion.

For Aditya his dream has come true. He sits today for his game proudly wearing the Jersey of the state he represents and the hope he holds to prove his worth and take his first step as a champion. 

The game is on!

The One Man Army :The man behind the Mumbai Mayors cup

RM Dongre, the strong man of maharashtra chess  is a house name not only in the Indian Chess fraternity but also on the international platform as his name has become synonymous with one of the biggest Chess tournaments in the county  with a strong player pool, qualitatively and quantitatively., “The Mumbai Mayors cup or the Mumbai Open”. His contribution to Maharashtra chess is immense.

RM Dongre has come in the top league and proved to all that with one man's vision and determination and true passion all is possible, shutting all those who chose to walk away from responsibility of working for a cause, by making excuses.

RM Dongre 

He is the president of Asian zone  3.7  & treasurer of All India Chess Federation and he very kindly obliged to share his views with us about what goes into a tournament & current Indian chess scenario Just before the onset of ninth edition of mayors cup which is scheduled to begin from  1st June 2016 in Mumbai at the opulent Mount Literra School campus , Bandra Kurla complex. 

 1 What motivates you to organize such a colossal event annually ? 

 I am very passionate about the game and passion is useless without contribution. And I figured it's important to be able to provide the platform to players with the same passion for the game. And I do as much as I can. 

 2. Many Chess events are organized around the county, how does this event stand in comparison to them?

 Well, first of all events are important in the way that they help promote the game. But given the location of the tournament, our incentive and state of the art facilities along with the number of national and international players makes it one of the best. Statistically, it's 2nd to Parshavnath tournament, of New Delhi.

3. What are the challenges you face in organizing an event of this magnitude? 

 Mainly the problem in India is lack of infrastructure, secondly logistics, cost of accommodation, since a lot of players are not local, particularly in Mumbai the tariff rates are very high. It helps us to have state support. However, now with the growing popularity of the tournament, we have an an excellent Hall, at Mount Literal International, School until last year we did face the problem of the lack of steady venue. But now we have Mount Litera to thank for our long commitment.

 4. What are the other problems that created hurdles in the promotion of such events? 

 Of course, the primary issue for promoting any sport in India is cricket, but still with a lot of efforts and goodwill of supporters & sponsors  we are making it happen. It would be very helpful if other sports receive more corporate support. Because there would be nothing tragic than not being able to promote and discover real talent just due to lack of sponsorship.  

5. How keen are Foreign GMs to participate  for this kind  championships in our country ?   

  It's not really a challenge, they look forward  to it, most of the GMs have showed great interest in the tournament. Major European events are clashing with the event, yet they chose the Mayor's event.

 6.How does participating in an event like this help our Indian  players? 

 It helps with the exposure, networking, a chance of being at a professional level moreover Indian players get to make IM & GM norms.

7. What is the incentive offered to the players?

 Total prize fund Rs.27,00,000/- next only to the highest event Parshvnath that is Rs.35,00,000/-

8. Who are the major corporate sponsors for this  event?

 LIC and Ankit Gems are co-sponsoring this event.

 9.What do you have to say about the booming Indian chess especially the junior group? 

Well, it's great to see the progress the next generation is making and being able to compete on the international platform with the same level of skills and talent is incredible. 

Like Harikrishana who has come into elite group. Followed by Juniors Abhijeet gupta, Parimarjan Negi , vidit gujrathi Adhiban with an ELO 2675 level have great potential. Youngesters Diptyan Ghosh, Arvindam Chithamram are also coming  up very well. So yes all in all happy news for Indian chess.

 11. Do you have any concern about junior women chess as its not in pace with the developing junior mens section ?

From the junior level especially, we need to relook at the women's chess, there are not too many strong players except Divya Deshmukh from Maharashtra and Mahalaxmi from Tamil Nadu. It's important that we provide them with more opportunities, and incentive to pursue mainstream chess to avoid the gender lag in Chess. The worldwide glass ceiling is believed to be even magnified in sports, so why not turn the tables and make entry and execution in Chess for women doubly smooth.

The upcoming King of the 64 squares

Soham Lohia, a 6.5 year old boy from Singapore american school has been on the chess wheel for 2 years and is proving fast with his growth rate to becoming the future of the next generation Chess players across the world.

Once in a while a player comes up in a field whose starting point resembles the heights he is going to reach, with players destined to be legends the signs are quite obvious. They are smart, brilliant for their age and they grasp and catch up to speed like nobody else.

sohum’s perfect tournaments have been his past performances in Singapore and Delhi events, in the 68th Singapore National Schools Chess Tournament Lower Junior cadre (2007-2009 born) a total 96 participants from several schools were in the fray for top honours, despite suffering from high fever Soham Lohia scored 7 points out of possible 9, which resulted commendable 6th place for him. Displaying the perfect and commendable spirit of sportsmanship, like legendary players from all over the world that believe the show must go on, that you either go big or you go home.It was held in the format of 15 min + 10 seconds increment on 21st and 22nd March of 2016.

While in the Delhi Chess Association’s Open FIDE Rating Chess tournament held from 27th to 31st March with 541 participants including 1 GM, 7 IMs and few other title holders like FMs and CMs. One of the biggest fide rating tournaments of India. Soham Lohia scored 2 and half points in this tournament with 2 wins and a draw against a rated.To a 6 year old boy playing this tournament was a really daunting task, wherein even a GM was also unable to score well and lost the tournament. But this 6 year old boy showed his mantle by giving a tough tooth and nail fight to the rated opponents by playing long games around 45 to 60 moves each.

These performances speak for themselves of a player in the making for grandeur, one whose passion for the game is so set in stone, no other odds matter.

Sohum's coach, Rama krishna says Soham Lohia is a player with limitless potential and talent. And a commendable grasping power that is effortless. He is so determined and focus that once we decide to train, and get in the flow he doesn't say no or never. He keeps going, but at the same time, despite his age he is always composed and calm which shows that he has evolved well beyond his age as a sports player. He can sit for 8 to 10 hours if he has to.

while the head coach at SMCA, Fide Master Balaji Guttula takes pride in saying that Soham is the kind of player who is dream come true for coaches, because that is the student you see and you know that he is meant for greatness and you know that every effort and training you put in is going to be multiplied when it comes out as performance. He will take all you got and make it better.

We hope to see sohum go places, and with the way he is going he will not wait long before he delivers the big one. And when that day comes. He will be the prophecy's child. The poster child for Chess in the years to come.

King of board and King of hearts! A legend in the making

King of board and King of hearts!
A legend in the making

"Mama!! Look! He is Siddhanth Lohia, I want to be like him." A proud coach,balaji, overheard a young chess aspirant point out to his mother. This suffices to portray Siddhanth’s credentials.

Let us introduce to you our most beloved and revered player Siddhant Lohia of Dhirubai Ambani International School with an ever rocketing ELO a colossal 1458, with his last improvisations being 100 points in one go by crushing players with ELO's 500 points higher than his! So there you go the grand introduction.

Now we will give you reasons that make him the 'King of Board'. Currently he is the highest rated player in the state in his category(U-9). His benchmark achievements include Gold at Maharashtra U-7 state championship 2012,Gold in Below 1600 rating Coulsdon open in London ,silver at St.Patrick's Annual chess event Singapore,Silver at Asian schools chess championship, Silver at Maharshtra U-9 state chess championship and he set new record by raising 100 ELO points in 30 days. For an 8 year old playing in the cut throat boys category of a difficult and a game of geniuses is an unconventional accomplishment. 

Siddhant doesn't just play he plays in style while most of us who believe chess players play the game demurely and thoughtfully, Siddhant will be a treat to watch because this genius manages to have all his strategies worked out well before and plays during the game, some believe even if blindfolded as though he already knows all the moves of his opponents! 

But despite all this our SMCA king is barely resting on his laurels instead he is constantly striving to improve his game to the extent that he now plays exceptional world class chess, a feat that has earned him the reputation of a player who plays solely to win. Of course, confidence of taking over any challenge against any and every opponent doesn't come without skills, in this case super skills from lightning speed calculations, to a very potential grasping power, an unlimited source of positivism and energy and a risk taking attitude makes him a feared opponent and a respected player.

But don't be fooled by the standard and number of his achievements in chess, he is also a junior Einstein, given his inclination to science, specifically robotics a hobby and interest that he is doing exceedingly well and also rather unusually combines with the above his love for piano on which performs marvelously too. In every sense he breaks the stereotyped personality of chess players through his multifaceted persona. 

A confident and extremely proud coach Fide Master,Balaji says,"Siddhanth has burning passion for chess. He has a unique ability to see the moves deeper with amazing accuracy & lightning speed. He has an incredible gift of vision.

What sets him a part from his compeers is that his plans are based on sound judgement,he has a very good and concrete sense of judgement,rare for someone his age and his endgame skills are reminiscent of the legendary Capablanca.

He displays high level of patience & maturity in converting minute advantages into phenomenal victories and therefore he has without a scope of doubt the ability to become a GM."

Now let us tell you what makes him the “King of Hearts” its because when you try to spot him in a crowd of 8 year olds he is the boy with a 1000 watts smile on his face all day every day, and bright eyes that perfectly display his “Never say No” attitude. This is what makes him the most popular player, be it at the academy, or at the tournaments, or in terms of the number of his fan following in social media But what makes him the 'King of Hearts' is his sunshine smile that he wears on that he will be one of those great players who are not only rare and unique but have the fabulous talent of inspiring hundreds of others who have started their journey with the same dream and this is what makes them players of the century. 

Despite all his feats his father, sushir’s words reflect immaculately how letting your child explore himself is the best road to success, he says,"We are very proud of Siddhanth and we are happy to see him play only because he is happy to play and win, if he goes on to be an IM or GM nothing like it but if not we will still be with him." 

But what his followers & the entire chess fraternity wants from siddhanth is that he continue delivery heart winning performances and keep up his attitude towards chess and life and rest assured he will soon be a legend.

A Quick glance at this second standard student's incredible records and achievements in chess so far!! 

Maharashtra’s Youngest Rated Chess player , India’s no.2 & across the globe he stood at no.7 with an International FIDE Rating of 1351 as per the July 2012 Rating list released by world chess federation ,FIDE. 

Career Milestones:-

Gold Medalist in the Maharashtra U-7 State chess championships 2012
Gold Medalist in the below 1600 International FIDE Rating in the coulsdon open, London.
Gold Medalist In the Rotary Club Rapid Chess Championships 2012
Silver medalist In the Maharashtra U-9 State Chess Championships 2013
Silver medalist in the Asian Schools Chess Championships 2012, New delhi
Silver Medalist in the St.Patricks Chess challenge , Singapore

Some of Siddhanths illustrious victims:-

Nguyen Duc Sang of Vietnam (FIDE rating: 1653)
Aditya Guhagarkar , ELO, 1470----U-9 State Champion 2012
Aditya Mittal , ELO, 1531-----National U-7 Champion 2013
Ridit Nimdia, ELO, 1316----former U-7 State Champion 2011
Joglekar, Abhijeet,ELO, 1715--Seasoned player
Gupta,Rajesh RS,ELO,1742---3 times Mumbai Senior Division Champion
Maitri Choksey, ELO,1376--Mumbai U-10 MSSA Girls Champion, 2012

A visionary's take on Make in India

A visionary's take on Make in India

Although meant for the Indian political and economical transformation, it can be very well applied to any other subject concerning national pride, progress and integrity. They say some things are meant to be impossible.Fortunately for us in the country of dreams, there is no such delusion, we are doers and believers and once we take on something, sky is the limit. Until quite recently we believed that India would be incapable of holding world-class tournaments with the same quality and class that is provided to players abroad, and then this myth was shattered very recently. 

52 year old Praful Zaveri ,a man of multifarious talents and resources, who has vigorously been working for the cause of chess,has finally created the yardstick against which all future tournaments will be measured. His own contribution to Chess had been explicit and significant. He is a Mumbai based professional coach, has authored couple of books on Chess, and a FIDE arbiter, and now he adds another badge to his coat, as the organiser of the grandest Chess tournaments, the country has ever seen. Which has been his vision and his mission for Chess in India, which he has almost single-handedly accomplished with the success of IIFLW event.

World class tournaments are complete with facilities such as a high quality venue, with added amenities such as the game analysis room,media room, live streaming of top games, availability of snacks and beverages, coverage from National and local media, akin to what the Indians are used to seeing for cricket.

Those who have the power and thus the responsibility to take action, always try to subvert from the discussion on our inability to hold such tournaments due to lack of infrastructure, must take note from his endeavour that where there is a will there is a way. 

Praful organised one of the world's biggest junior Chess Championship with the highest prize fund we have ever seen in an Indian based tournaments with the aid of corporate giant 'India Info Line Wealth' (IIFLW) and went on to turn his dream into reality with a one of a kind tournament. 

The event which is nearing its conclusion has won praises and has been acknowledged both nationally and internationally for its management and organisational fluency. It was held at Mumbai's prime location-BKC in the campus of Mount Litera School. It was complete with mandatory high security checks for all players and accompanying persons, who were issued I-cards before entering the tournament area, a step missing in most of our tournaments which can potentially jeopardise the fairness of results. 

However like any remarkable event this too came to concrete reality after a long and tedious journey of 10 odd months recounts Praful.

Bhumika Shah, one of the chess parents at the venue blissfully expresses “Its a great service to us and our kids, Praful sir has truly shown how intent can make a make a difference, by association with corporates he has organised a dream come true tournament for our kids”.

Praful books have in a similar manner inspired many junior Chess players across the country for years. Being both instructive and awe-inspiring to many youngsters, who live by it, including Priyadarshan Banjan, a former student of praful's chess academy who is currently the editor of Chess Base India. 

The best of the things in the world have been the result of ideas, Make in India was one such idea that has conceptualised the union of the public and the private sector, and if we can only think of the idea behind the campaign we will realise that it can be used for other significant causes too. Praful has underlined one such cause that has previously been neglected, but one man's devotion has proved every excuse implausible. We hope he continues his noble work that will change the lives and dreams of the generation to come, and accelerate their journey towards the international platform in Chess. Making India the hub of future Chess champions.

A Legend's tale!

Just like her other legendary predecessors such as Koneru Humpy who revolutionized chess in Andhra Pradesh and Vijayalaxmi did on Tamil Nadu we have our very own in Maharashtra- Divya Deshmukh

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. Divya Deshmukh who like other 8.5 year olds should be only dreaming of being an astronaut or curing cancer, is rather a believer of doing more than dreaming and thus here she is right on the path speeding towards her destination of becoming the youngest Grand Master of the country and every step she takes towards it is equivalent to a leap. Just like her most recent accomplishment which is at the least nothing if not historical, as she went on to win the World Chess championship in the U-10 at her age! Her deeds speak for themselves but it is known that the chess world is abuzz and marveled by the talent and skill of execution of this junior champion who is almost somewhat of a local legend! And why not she is the world's youngest FIDE Master to having both national and international tournaments right in her bag with multiple national , state & International Gold medals already there is no saying where she will be in the next five years. She has the same quality of taking everybody by surprise by doing things not expected of her at her age and beyond her experiences but then again that is the style of legends.

Its almost like Divya was the destiny's child for chess, as is evident from her career graph and her conduct. She is like a fashioned chess player with her dedication, focus and discipline and also fortunately immense support her parents both of who are doctors by profession. 

Divya is provably the only inevitable heir in line to the throne of becoming the youngest Grand Master of the country. She is way ahead of her contemporaries in terms of experience and results almost like she is on the expressway towards her destination! 

Divya like her predecessor in the world chess is like Judit Polgar, with her current career graph reminding us of the former's earlier days in Chess.It is well established that the Indian Chess circuit is far more competitive than any in the world and that is the reason the most players prefer to increase their rating by playing foreigners, however Divya is not shy of taking risks at all and deems it necessary and natural to play against Indians to increase her rating which anyone from the Chess Fraternity will agree to take immense courage and trust in oneself.

We are sure that we have a lot more magic to behold as she plays in the future. Just like her other legendary predecessors such as Koneru Humpy who revolutionized chess in Andhra Pradesh and Vijayalaxmi did on Tamil Nadu we have our very own in Maharashtra Divya Deshmukh says FIDE Master , Balaji Guttula

She is definitely the one to both look out for and to look forward too. As always we wish her all the best and congratulate her heartily over this achievement!

Mrudul Dehankar : In the shoes of Judit Polgar

She is an absolute creation of nature, fashioned with immense talent!

For everybody else in the country Nagpur maybe synonymous to oranges, or perhaps one of the three cities from the Golden Triangle. However to any of us who have any inclination to the pro chess of the junior league in Maharashtra, nagpur has been synonymous to Divya Deshmukh. 

However power is a very tricky asset for it shifts just as soon as there is a slightest movement in your position. And here we are, and it has shifted, not too far, but to another girl from Nagpur who seems to have just come out of nowhere and no happens to be the equal of Divya Deshmukh in terms of talent and soon enough we are guessing in her collection of laurels too. A glimpse of this was first seen recently in Goa, where Mrudul finished ahead of Divya. With this performance, she crossed the threshold of being ordinary and became extraordinary.

A string of Big Victories over the last six months brought Mrudul into national reckoning, she is currently the Nation's top player in the girls, U-11 category. After claiming the Gold at the National Schools that were recently held in Goa. 

She is an absolute creation of nature, fashioned with immense talent and thus despite the fact that she entered the professional circuit only at the age of 7, unlike most champions that step into it in the formative years, she has re-compensated more than enough and now holds the scepter in her hand with pride and diligence.

She has been the Maharashtra State Champion multiple times, and the other crown jewels of this new found Queen are: Silver in the U-9 Nationals, 2013, 2014; Silver in Asian Youth in the U-10 in Uzbekistan. And she will now be the candidate to officially represent India in the Asian Youth And World Youth Championships, which are to be held in South Korea and Greece respectively. 

And she may have it all right now, but this Dil Mange More starlet, along with her father Vilas, regret on every opportunity missed to make the country and state proud, as was the cause in 2012, when she did not receive clearance for Commonwealth and Asian Youth because of financial problem despite official clearance, but nothing can stop talent from finding its path.However to avoid this scenario in the future it would be great if they have sponsors backing them up. So Mrudul can fulfill her destiny and make our country proud. 

Mrudul apart from being the marvelous chess player that she is, also happens to be a fabulous student academically. She always aces in her class, at the Bhavan's BP Vidya Mandir in Trimurti nagar, and as you can guess she is a total hit in her school. She plays basketball and badminton, when she is not being a sportsperson in training under her Coach, Gurpreet Maras, a determined coach in nagpur who who wants to turn the city into a Mecca for chess in Maharashtra.

Mrudul is a very different person, on and off the chess board and both equally fascinating and fierce aspects are reflected in everything she does, including her game. With the right amount of support she could be the country's next big, as there is a pool of talent waiting to be found in that girl. 

Mrudul's role model, is a predecessor, who too made a start from where she is today. But today she is on the other side of the finish line. Where Mrudul one day hopes to be. None other than Judit Polgar, so much so that she has her poster in her room. 

With a current ELO of 1674, after only four years of training and with no support from a sponsor, if she has come so far then she will definitely make it to the stars with that extra thrust. And hope that her value is recognized sooner than later.