A short writeup on the indigenous game of India- Chess, written by our student Gurbani Sabhlok.

Gurbani a 13 years old, a young orator from Hyderabad. We are proud to have her as a student of the Little Kathakar Program, an Online Public Speaking through Applied Storytelling & Theatre Program under the mentorship of Trainer Khusshbo Chokhaani. We congratulate Gurbani for this exemplary true self-expression.

The Game of Chess

Imagine a game where black and white come to war, not a war of power but a war of knowledge. Who will win? Will it be white or black? Whose king is smart enough to be saved? Well, well, well! hold onto your imagination.

Hello, everyone.  I’m Gurbani don’t worry there is not going to be a nuclear war, I was simply talking about the indigenous Indian game of chess where you can fight peacefully. In fact with loads of fun.

Let’s begin with the history. The history of chess can be traced nearly 1500 years to its earliest known predecessor, Chaturanga. From India, it spread to Persia. The official world chess title came into existence by the late 19th century. One of the first grandmasters of the game was a Spanish priest by the name Ruy Lopez.

Chess players now make up one of the largest communities in the world: 605 million adults play chess regularly – a number comparable to regular users of Facebook.

The rules of the game are elaborative, but you must pay attention. It is played by the opponents on a checkerboard with specially designed pieces of contrasting colors commonly black and white. The objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s king.

Few famous players of Indian Origin are: Viswananthan Anand, Pentala Harikrishanan, Rameshbabu Praggnandhaa, Krishnan Siarkiran, Tania Sachdev etc.

Chess has risen in popularity in India in the last few decades primarily due to chess Grandmaster and former five times World Champion Viswanathan Anand. The All India Chess Federation is the governing body for chess in India. It is also the central administrative body for the game of chess in India. Founded in 1951, the federation is affiliated with Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), the world body for chess.

The most popular tournament is “The Candidates Tournament”. This special tournament is only for those who are invited. Few prestigious chess tournaments are held in the city of Wiijk aan Zee in the Netherlands every year since 1938.

Over time, the average chess game has consistently ended with about 16 pieces captured between the two sides. Despite the fact that chess games are getting longer, more pieces aren’t being captured in that extended time period. Whereas a piece was captured every 4 ply in 1850, a piece is captured every 5 ply in 2014. The rules may have altered now with change in time. But the love, excitement and interest for the game of chess is rising more and more in adults and children as well.

“This was an attempt from my side to share a short glimpse of the Indian game of Chess. Hope you enjoyed the information.”-Gurbani

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