Shahil and his story... Read on

To be brutally honest, it is indeed very difficult for a sport other than a major sports like cricket or football to find it's footing in India. In the past, many non-cricketing sportspeople have faced problems due to lack of money alloted to their sport but sadly, this time the pressure of lack of funds told on chess wonderkid Shahil Dey, forcing him to opt out of the Asian Championship scheduled to start from March 31 in Uzbekistan.  

Sanjay Dey, Shahil's father had said that a total money of ₹ 1.7 1akhs would be required for the entire trip, which was not within their financial capabilities. In a press release he had said,

 “I have already sent letters to the office of our Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare Department but till date didn’t get any kind of response. Hence I have sent letter to the All India Chess Federation and informed them that Sahil, who is now second in national rankings  (Under-9), will not be the part of this competition.”

However Sanjay Dey  revealed the fact that Shahil was the national champion last year and the government was sponsoring him. But his problems lay somewhere else.

" Yes the government is sponsoring Shahil as he was the national champion last year but the problem is in the fact that the government will only sponsor Shahil and no one else who is accompanying him. Since he  is a child right now, so someone has to accompany him and I find it difficult alone to match up to the financial requirements. "

Sports like chess aren't that popular and "trendy" in India because of  many flaws. One of them surely is the fact that the government turns a blind eye to such sports and does not look into their matters. Even Sanjay Dey is aware of this fact and couldn't stop a chuckle out of his mouth when asked about whether the government(  Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare Department ) replied to his letter or not. He said  "They (the government) didn't bother to reply back. And so I had written to the AICF, for informing them that Shahil wouldn't take part in the tournament due to financial problems. They too didn't give any reply."

Sanjay Dey, who works in the sales department of a private company is the only breadwinner in the family and quite rightly so it is difficult for him to bear such high costs whenever Shahil gets a chance to showcase his talent abroad. 

" I am feeling really bad for him because for the last two-three times, I had gathered the money myself but this time it is impossible for me to pay such an amount."

But he has full faith in his son's talent, so much so that he said, " I know that if he would have gone, then he would have surely got a medal. But this time, it is impossible for me to pay this amount and hence he would have to miss out."

Shahil Dey is a wonderkid in chess for a reason. After learning to play the game at the age of five, he has shown a lot of maturity to go up the ranks at a good pace as in such a short span of time he has already been crowned the national champion twice in his four-year career. He is nine years old now. 

Says his father, " He has won the U-5 Asian School Championship, got the silver medal in the U-7 category in Asian games, got the gold medal in the Commonwealth games in the U-8 category, won the bronze medal in the U-10 category of the Asian championships and in 2015, he was named as the tenth best chess player in the world among kids of his age." 

For a fact, he is the second-ranked player in India and has a remarkable rating of 1774.

Quite an achievement that for a nine-year old. 

But his father still regrets the fact that he would have to miss out to due to lack of funds. "The only problem is with the lack of funds" says Sanjay.

Shahil for that matter would represent India in the U-10 category Youth Chess Championship in Brazil which is slated to be held in August. Looking forward into the future, Sanjay Dey says, " I am saving for that tournament as a result of which I cannot pay for this one. That is a big tournament no doubt and I have to pay for that anyhow."

On asked how would he like to see his son in the future, he said, " I will make my son a grand master in the next three to four years." 

And his plans are also set accordingly. 

He stresses on the need to improve the ratings in order to do perform better in these international tournaments and for that he is leaving no stone unturned. He says, " To improve his ratings, we have appointed a local coach from Guhawati. We also have appointed a coach from Kolkata as well."

On the money spent behind the coaching of Shahil, he says, " We are paying 2.5- 3 lakhs per year behind the coaches. Although it is difficult but we still have to do it."

He also suggests that the government could sponsor this coaching by giving an amount of ₹1,00000 or ₹2,00000 every year.

On his further plans of procuring sponsors, he said that he isn't giving up and that he would look up to the private sector companies who often sponsor children for various reasons as a part of their CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) programs. 

His words exuded hope when he said, " I am not letting it go. I will try to gather sponsorship from the private sector companies who often do CSR programs."

It was just back in 2015, when the chess prodigy fetched a gold medal in the U-8 category at the Commonwealth games. Nothing but an evergreen financial problem for sportspeople other than cricket has formed a major hurdle in his path at such an early stage of what has been a very promising career so far. His father's words although ushers in that hope and faith that somehow things would work out and fall into place at the end, people like Bharat Singh who say, " The AICF cannot help him. His father has to write to the Government of India for help" reminds us of the dark reality that exists, for sports like chess and sportspeople like Shahil Dey.

Meeting Anand was a fabulous experience: Kush Bhagat’s mother Shilpa

The day after chess sensation Kush Bhagat created a flutter, we explored what made Kush take up chess and has been improving in leaps and bounds. The seven-year-old’s mother Shilpa talked about her son, the chess prodigy, and gave insight into the life of the young champion from Mumbai.
Kush, is a Candidate Master (CM) and has already managed to win an impressive triple gold at the First Western Youth Chess Championship 2016 in Al Ain Chess Club, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Kush was only three and a half years old when he along with his younger twin sisters and some friends used to practice chess over at their house under then coach mr.Patel. It was from here that his love for the game initiated.

"Kush along with his younger twin sisters and some friends used to practice chess over at our place under a coach, he loved it." said Shilpa Kush.

Young Kush at the tender age of 7 has already played a game of chess against Grand Master, Viswanathan Anand and met him twice.
"Meeting Viswanathan Anand was a fabulous experience for Kush. After the game they sat down and discussed about their game." said his mother.

Even though Anand is one chess master young Kush looks up to, it is the Norwegian Grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen who he really idolises. Carlsen too shot to fame at a young age when he earned his Grandmaster title at the age of 13.

"Kush is quite fond of Viswanathan Anand but his role model is Magnus Carlsen. Kush is very aggressive with his style of play and his approach is quite similar to that of Magnus" she said.
When asked about whether the sport was affecting his academics, his mother remarked "No, not as of now. Kush is quite a bright child and it really does not take him much time to pick up anything."
According to his mother, the Class II student of Hill Spring School has the full backing of his school when it comes to chess.
"He studies in an International School and they are very co-operative, even when he is away for tournaments they mail us his homework and everything."
Kush met his current coach, Mr Balaji when he was at Taiwan for the U-5 chess championship. Kush managed to bag a silver medal at the tournament but it was becoming extremely difficult for his previous coach to travel with him to all the touranments as he had several other students under him. This prompted Mr Balaji to take Kush under his wing in the South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA).

"Joining SMCA has really helped Kush quite a lot as Balaji sir mentors him and accompanies him to the tournament but even if he is not available someone else from the academy does. They all work together as a team." she said.

Kush's mother too accompanies him to every tournament and gives the young mastermind all the support and assistance he needs.

When asked about his training regime, Kush's mother said that he usually trains around 2 hours on weekdays and puts in upto 6 hours of practice on the weekends.

Mrudul Dehankar: Another champion in the making?

Mrudul is already a force to reckon with in the chess circuit. The Nagpur girl has won innumerable tournaments already. Have a look at her achievements, and it says it all.

Mrudul is currently undergoing training at the GM Coaching Camp, Mumbai from chess legend Alon Greenfed. 12V Chess Centre India is sponsoring the young wizard for this coaching camp.

To call Mrudul Dehankar (12) a genius would be an understatement. Hailing from a family which showed no inclination towards sports, Mrudul is already a force to reckon with in the chess circuit. The Nagpur girl has won innumerable tournaments already. Have a look at her achievements, and it says it all. She has won the Maharashtra State Championship a number of times, silver in the Under-9 Nationals in 2013 and 2014, silver in the Asian Youth in the Under-10 category in Uzbekistan among others.

For Mrudul, there’s no place for complacency. “I want to be the World Champion one days,” she declares. Passionate she is. “We had no idea how she developed interest in the game. She played in a tournament in school on her own when she was younger. After that she attended some summer camps, which helped her hone her skills,” says her mother Archana, an assistant professor in the Priyadarshini College of Engineering.

A student of Bhavan's BP Vidya Mandir in Nagapur, Mrudul is good in studies as well. Says her mother, “Despite being occupied with chess, she doesn’t ignore her studies. In fact she is quite brilliant in academics. Her school is also very cooperative. She has done her school proud, so the authorities make sure that she gets time to practise.” Mrudul adds, “Now I am in seventh standard and will concentrate hard for another two years before shifting the focus to boards. After that chess will be my priority.”

Mrudul is currently undergoing training at the GM Coaching Camp, Mumbai from chess legend Alon Greenfed. 12V Chess Centre is sponsoring the young wizard for this camp.The youngest of two siblings (her elder sister is studying Architecture), Mrudul faces no pressure from her family. “She is on her own and full credit goes to her for her achievements. We don’t enforce anything on her. If she is keen on taking up chess as a profession, she is welcome. Even if she takes to other avenues, like Medical or IIT, it would be her choice,” says Mrudul’s mother.

But Archana does mention her daughter’s passion for the game. “She is very passionate and has a never-say-die spirit. Even when she performs poorly, she doesn’t give up and is quick to shed the past and look ahead.”

Though, there is no undue pressure from her family, but Archana does expect her daughter to win the Grandmaster norm early. “Her ranking should also improve. Currently, she is within the 1900 mark. Hopefully, she will reach 2000 soon,” says Archana.

We too hope, Mrudul rises in the ranks and brings more laurels to the country.

                                 City boys Dev & aditya felicitated by President Pranab Mukherjee

Mumbai-born Dev Shah (8) and Aditya Mittal can truly be called wonder kids of chess. Dev, a former World Schools Chess champion and Aditya, an ex-Under-7 National Champion couldn’t have asked for a better gift on the eve of the Children’s Day when they were awarded with the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievements in chess from President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi. Apart from Dev and Aditya, 28 kids were honoured by Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

Dev, a student of Dhirubhai International School is a boy with many firsts. He is the first boy from Mumbai to win the World Schools Chess title (Brazil, 2014) and a silver medal in the FIDE World Youth & Cadets Chess Championship (Greece, 2015). A trainee of South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA), he is also the youngest Indian to be a rated player. Dev practices rigorously under his coach DV Ganesh who has high hopes in his student and is optimistic of making him the youngest Grandmaster from India.

Aditya, a student of Vigyor International School is an exceptionally talented kid and has many records to his credit. He already has a rating of 2040 elo points which puts him amongst the highest rated chess players in the world.

Treat our champions better

An enthralling race against all odds!

This is not a movie review

Call it a coincidence or a well planned date for the movie release, budhia singh , born to run, is a flick to watch at a time when more than 1.2 billion Indian people are desperately waiting for our Athletes to do a podium finish in the ongoing Rio Olympics.

This movie unravels the harsh reality of mistreatment of indian sports heroes in our country by the bureaucrats and the reason why despite of having a mammoth population of over 1 billion and has been actively taking part in the Olympics since 1900 why we have mere 9 gold medals as against 196 medals by USA with a population of just around 300 million citizens.

As long as the reins of running the sports associations are in the hands of pot bellied bureaucrats we can't change the current scenario in the country on the contrary it will get even worse who will take pride only in inflating bills and increasing their bank balances as the damage done by suresh kalmadi ,the erstwhile Indian Olympic head in the common wealth games quantitatively and qualitatively.

If you want medals along with nurturing athletes Let our Retired champions Manage the sports affairs in the country then only we can expect our athletes to do well at the gigantic sports events like olympics.

how many parents would want their children to pursue career in sports after seeing the plight of the former medallists who are selling Golgappas on streets in delhi or even selling their own medals which they have won by toiling hard to to make their ends meet.

It's like you are telling our champions there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and after attaining the glory for our country they realise that a rainbow is nothing more than a trick of light.

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.