Mumbai: Chess enthusiasts are enjoying watching some of the best players make their moves at the ongoing IIFL Wealth 3rd International Chess Championship, being held at the Mount Litera International School in Bandra Kurla Complex, thanks to an app that provides real-time updates of the games.
The championship comprises two tournaments: an Open event for Grandmasters and a U-13 event that are being played out on 111 electronic boards, spread out in rows in the school’s basement. By accessing live.followchess.com on their mobiles or PCs using a browser or downloading it as an Android app, chess-lovers can follow the games as they are played. The meet is organised by the Maharashtra Chess Association in association with the All India Chess Federation.
In fact, using 111 electronic boards at a single venue is a logistical feat and possibly a national record, says tournament director Praful Zaveri. The credit, he adds, goes to the technical team supervised by International Arbiter Anandh Babu, and has bettered the utilisation of 60 boards at the Asian Youth Chess meet in New Delhi.
Each board is made in The Netherlands by Digital Game Technology (DGT) and costs approximately ₹25,000. Mr. Zaveri said, “Chess and technology go together. We don’t have an audience, so we use technology to reach people. DGT came out with a lightweight, easy-to-use model, which was procured by the AICF last year. It’s like a normal chess board, but comes with a circuit and sensors which recognise the pieces. Taken together with 20 boards owned by us, the 111 boards being used here simultaneously is, I believe, an Indian record of sorts.” Chess players, whose performances are subject to constant analysis by rivals and their coaches, seem to have accepted the trend, he says.
