Int'l Chess Day: Coaches dive into how fans of the popular game have evolved

Few games tend to capture onersquos imagination like a battle over 64 squares of chess does From authors like Premchand and Umberto Eco to filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and Ingmar Bergman the game has fascinated them all Yet in a cricketcrazy city like Mumbai it might not be the first game that a teenager turns toUnknown to many the city has had a longrunning affair with the checkerboard The heyday arrived in the 1980s when the Zandu Canteen in Parel became a hotbed for chess talent This was followed by the Prabodhankar Thackeray Sports Complex in Vile Parle in the 1990s Geeta Punjabi founder of Chanakya Chess Club and head of Bandra Chess Association has been witness to the evolution since then ldquoOnce upon a time the game had star power You had Aamir Khan and Sunil Dutt organising and participating in eventsrdquo she recalls It was through these tournaments that names such as Pravin Thipsay and Sharad Tilak emergedParticipants at a previous tournament by ChessBase IndiaGrowing interestldquoThis interest has grown further since then more young grandmasters are emerging in Mumbai and Maharashtrardquo adds Punjabi This can be credited to multiple factors including Netflix Sagar Shah IM International Master and founder of ChessBase India shares ldquoThe game was always growing but series such as The Queenrsquos Gambit brought back its popculture appeal Credit also goes to several standup comedians like Biswa Kalyan Rath Samay Raina and Anirban Dasgupta who popularised the game during and after the pandemic They made fans realise that chess can be cool as wellrdquo Shah points to the recent Global Chess League in Dubai as proof of the rising interest in the gameAccessibility has also made things easier Nagesh Guttula chess coach CEO South Mumbai Chess Academy reveals ldquoI have noticed a growing demographic between the ages of 20 years and 50 years taking to the game They work through the week but play tournaments on the weekendrdquoSagar Shah Nagesh Guttula and Rahul JoshiLogging into the gameThe pandemic also transformed the game from a participatory event to a viewershipdriven sport Raina for instance hosts regular streaming sessions that are quite popular ldquoThe online community has grown exponentially since the pandemic It has drawn in audiences who range from teens to the middleaged adultsrdquoshe mentionsGuttula remarks that an online tournament is not the same as sitting across from your opponent ldquoThe online platforms are great learning models but children need to play more tournamentsrdquo he saysLack of tournamentsWhile the talent in Mumbai is growing there is a need for more ranking tourneys to be held in and around the city Rahul Joshi senior trainer at Joshirsquos Chess Academy says ldquoMost Sundays will witness gatherings in Mumbai Navi Mumbai and Thane Things are improving but I would love to see more rating events happen in the city toordquo The organising issues and high rent rates make hosting a rating event challenging he admitsGuttula agrees saying that the city needs more tournaments along with the Mumbai School Sports Association MSSA championships ldquoWe have superb talent at the top level and need tournaments to sharpen uprdquoFor Shah though there are other factors at play He points out that Mumbai has always been a commercial city ldquoMany of the talented kids at some point during their life have to choose between chess and a financiallystable career That is why we did not have a grandmaster for 25 years till16year old Aditya Mittal in 2022rdquo he remarksThings are beginning to change now There is growing interest among organisers Joshi remarks that travel and online accessibility have opened up new opportunities for players across the city and neighbouring metropolisesAs Shah puts it the next world championship might just be the big moment for the sport in IndiaSign up for these Tandem SimulOn Today 5 pm onwardsAt Phoenix Market City LBS Marg Kurla WestFree 11th Finer Things Chessclub InvitationalOn July 26 730 pm onwardsAt Gateway Taproom Hari Chambers Kala Ghoda FortFree Category Chess TournamentOn July 30 9 am onwardsAt The Playce Marathon Maxima LBS Marg Mulund WestCall 9987846713 for detailsCost Rs 700 for entry Maharashtra State Under19 Open amp Girls Chess Championship 2023From August 11 to August 13At Swaminarayan Hall behind Parvati Theatre Vasai WestLog on to chesseventscoin