GUWAHATI: The president of the All Assam Chess Association (AACA) Kandarpa Kalita in an interaction with The Sentinel sounded optimistic about the future of chess in Assam. Here is the excerpt.
The Sentinel (TS): What is the present scenario of chess in Assam?
Kalita: It’s very good. Every year big numbers of young players are joining in the game and they are taking it very seriously. The response of various schools of the State to promote the game is also encouraging.
TS: Can you share the steps taken by AACA to promote the game in the state !
Kalita: We are trying to spread the game all over the state. Earlier we had 23 affiliated units but recently we increased it to 29. District units are trying their best to promote the game in their localities. You may have noticed that a good number of academies are functioning in Guwahati and other parts of the state. Most of them are well equipped to train the young players. At the same time we are also organizing Inter District Chess Competition on a regular basis and numbers of rating chess tournaments are also increased. Time to time we are bringing international competition in the State to give exposure to our young players.
TS: Many feel AACA should start a chess academy in the State as there is huge talent in this game.
Kalita: I agree. We have planned to start one centre, possibly in Guwahati, equipped with all modern training facilities and good coaches. We are in touch with the State government in this regard and optimistic that very soon we will be able to launch the centre.
TS: Any special plans for the players who have already shown a lot of promise to become international stars!
Kalita: Yes. Players like Sahil Dey and Mayank Chakraborty are doing very well in various national and international competitions. IM Sahil already achieved two Grand Master Norms while Mayank bagged one. We have already discussed with the All India Chess Federation to arrange special training for both of them and AICF also agreed.
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