Self-taught Bhutan Players Look To Make A New Start | Kolkata News

Kolkata: It’s going to be baptism by fireplace for the Bhutan facet on the Chess Olympiad in Chennai from July 28 to August 10 as 10 members of this small mountain nation will probably be enjoying their first-ever over the board Fide-rated match.
Established in 2004, the Bhutan Chess Federation (BCF) was useful till 2013. However after that it remained dormant for varied causes.
Solely final 12 months it was revived with new members approaching board. This will probably be Bhutan’s second look within the Olympiad after they performed for the primary time within the 2014 version in Norway.
“We now have a really younger facet,” the lads’s workforce captain Thinley Palden Dorji informed TOI throughout their one-day stopover within the metropolis earlier than flying off to Chennai.
“We now have a peculiar workforce mixture with many of the gamers being college students and engineers,” he acknowledged.
In a rustic the place archery and soccer are the most well-liked sports activities, it was troublesome to kind a chess workforce. The BCF chosen the highest 5 gamers of an open choice competitors which was held in Thimphu on Might 21-22.
With no tournaments or coaches out there within the nation, all of the unrated Bhutanese have been self-taught gamers.
The facet bought their first style of over-the-board coaching on Tuesday when Worldwide Grasp Atanu Lahiri held a session with the gamers. The workforce beforehand had some on-line coaching with Indian IM Vishal Sareen who was referred to them by Fide.
“We got here a day early simply to attend this over-the-board session,” a workforce member stated. Lahiri by the way labored with BCF earlier than and the BCF determined to take some ideas from the previous All India Chess Federation (AICF) joint secretary within the runup to the Olympiad.
“I labored with them throughout the 2014 Olympiad,” Lahiri stated. “What I like concerning the Bhutan federation is that they deal with youth. I really feel this expertise will assist the gamers in future,” he added.
The nation’s authorities has been very supportive of the facet. “My faculty is completely happy to grant me depart for the match,” 14-year-old Lhundrup M Dorji acknowledged. A college champion, Dorji sounded lifelike with desires in his eyes.
“I wish to get some ranking factors from this match,” he acknowledged. Requested whether or not he desires to hold on enjoying the sport in future, he stated “provided that I’m ok for that.”
Regardless of the consequence, this younger facet is wanting ahead to share the platform with the world’s perfect. “I’d like to get autographs of the giants of the sport,” younger Dorji acknowledged.