This is an event you don't see often. In fact, the organisers are hosting it for the first time in Delhi. A chess tournament where the youngest participant is a four-year-old and the oldest, 76.
“It is a vibrant association of the young and the old. The aim is to bring the two generations together. We have hosted such a tournament in Madhya Pradesh before. The concept was a success, so we thought of bringing it to Delhi,” fills in Heman K. Singh, president of Paschim Vihar-based Checkmate Chess Academy and the organisers of Chandrasekhar Memorial All India Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament 2011.
Named after former Prime Minister Chandrasekhar, the daylong tournament held on Children's Day gave a chance to elderly participants from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Pondicherry, Punjab and Maharashtra to come to the city and play their favourite game “free of cost with free food and stay” with young players.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The elderly participants include former chess players, including Nasir Ali, India's first Asian chess champion. So you see, they come with a lot of experience which they can pass on to the younger generation on this platform,” says Singh.
Amar Bansal, President, Senior Citizens Welfare Association of Old Delhi, one of the brains behind the idea and the co-host of the event, says he thought of the initiative “because we have always noticed senior citizens taking a lot of interest in the game, myself included.” So hours before the tournament started at Chandrasekhar Bhawan on Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg, Bansal is at the venue, ensuring its smooth sailing. “We are affiliated to the Confederation of Senior Citizens Association of Delhi which has 11 lakh members belonging to about 55 associations of elderly citizens of the city. So we are expecting a lot of senior citizens to watch the tournament,” he says.
Heman Singh weaves into the conversation “the fact based on research done in the U.S. that chess really helps senior citizens keep their mind alert.” He adds, “So it is worth promoting the game.” In April 2012, the Academy will host an international chess tournament “and there too we shall give a chance to senior citizens to compete.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Yet another co-organiser, J. R. Gupta, Chairperson of the Confederation of Senior Citizens Association of Delhi, adds, “Along with senior citizens, we are also giving a free of cost platform to physically challenged and poor contestants.” He also uses the opportunity to pat the Association for being able to “get benefits for the elderly in Delhi such as concessional DTC monthly passes for both AC and non-AC buses plying on the city roads and increase of old age monthly pension from age 70 and above from Rs.1000.to Rs.1500 per month. “This is the highest pension for senior citizens compared to whole of India,” he says.
(In all, 66 prizes were distributed at the event by Lt. Governor of Delhi Tejendra Khanna.)