Keren Matriculation School, Chekkanurani, recently saw 32 children don black and white outfits to simulate a live chess game, on a 2,500 square feet board . The school was down with chess fever throughout the day, with simultaneous chess displays and a chess exhibition shedding light on the origins of chess and historical plays, all with the aim of getting students excited about the sport.
The school enrols over 4,500 students, many of whom attend from one of the 100 surrounding villages. Prabaharan, the principal of Keren Matriculation, wants these students to be aware of chess and next week’s Chess Olympiad set to be held in Mamallapuram, with leading chess players from around the world. “Chess is a good thinking game,” he says, adding, “ [In every] nook and corner of India, everyone is holding a bat and a ball, cricket is that famous. I think chess should also go to that level.”
The event also saw the participation of Madurai-based Grandmaster Deepan Chakkravarthy, International Master BT Murali Krishnan, and Commonwealth gold medallist M Rajadarshini in simultaneous chess matches against the students.
