SCA Independence Day Chess Championship aims to bolster mind sport

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Prizes worth millions of Rupees will be distributed among the participants and the spectators during the Independence Day Chess Championship 2016, being organized by the Sindh Chess Association (SCA) at the Customs Services Club in Federal-B-Area, Karachi, over the weekend.

The details of the two-day event were unveiled by Ayaz Memon Motiwala, President SCA, and Chairman, Karachi Tajir Alliance Association (KTAA), while the technical aspects were shared by Sadia Qureshi, Secretary General, SCA, in a media briefing here at the Karachi Press Club on August 23. 

“The objective of holding the Independence Day Chess Championship, having participation from all over the country, with great fanfare on August 26 and 27 is to attract the youth in particular towards this mind sport. The school kids besides the college and university students are being encouraged to take part in it through various promotions. The fabulous prizes are going to serve as incentives,” Ayaz Motiwala, having been elected the SCA President recently, remarked. 

“Indeed it’s a pity that such a wonderful game like chess has suffered in the past due to politicking and other reasons. We cannot change the past but surely we can contribute our bit in turning it around for the future. We desire to engage the youth in a big way and the positive results would be visible sooner than later,” he declared. 

“Having accepted the leadership of the SCA as a challenge, a comprehensive youth development programmed is being worked out and it will soon be launched all over the province, which is our domain. The research has shown the students are particularly for playing chess and we wish to facilitate them in every possible manner, be it online or otherwise,” Ayaz Motiwala, eager to set the ball rolling instead of waiting for things to happen, stated. 

He also gave details of the major prizes to be presented during the upcoming two-day event. Besides the cash prizes, there will be gold ear tops, crystal stone jewellary, gift hampers, dress suits, branded eye lenses and imported sun glasses to be won. As many as 100 exclusive memberships of the Franklinz Consumer Club will also be offered to the winners by lucky draws. 

Sadia Qureshi, Secretary SCA, disclosed that competitions will be held in the youth as well as the open categories and their outstanding performers will be getting their share in the kitty of Rs 100,000. 

She revealed that more than 50 entries for each of the two categories had already been received and greater number of entries was being anticipated by the deadline of August 24. 

The SCA Secretary was critical of the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) for meddling into the provincial chess affairs although it was not an Olympic sport. 

Sadia Qureshi regretted that the country was unlikely to be represented in the upcoming Chess Olympiad due to the non-presence of an elected set-up of the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP). 

“We would urge the chess organizers to work for the promotion of the game rather than spending time in counter-productive activities. Otherwise Pakistan may not produce even International Masters, let alone Grand Masters, in future,” she concluded.

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MSAP offers incentives to scrabble masters

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) has offered cash incentives to the three-member national team proceeding to Malaysia to participate in the upcoming World Scrabble Championship 2009.

The MSAP Directors, Tariq Rasheed Khan and Pervez Iqbal, recently had a meeting with officials of Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at the BBCL House which was also attended by the trio of Rodney Judd, Rashid Khan and Wasim Khatri, who will be representing the country in the World Championship to be staged in the Malaysian town of Johor Baharu from November 25 to 29.

During the meeting it was resolved that the scrabble players participating in the World Championship will be presented handsome cash prizes upon their return home if they finish among the top 10.

The MSAP functionaries not only advised the members of the national scrabble team to wear blazers during the course of the event but they also agreed to bear its costs. The PSA officials were thoroughly appreciative of the prompt action of the MSAP Directors.

It’s for the first time, after the establishment of the MSAP last year, when the World Scrabble Championship is being held. The PSA, being generally governed by the active scrabble players themselves, have had their limitations and the leadership has been found wanting in certain areas. They can now benefit a great deal by the expertise and the visionary approach of the MSAP.

The 21-year-old Wasim Khatri, who is the reigning national champion, gets a chance to make his debut in World Championship while Rashid Khan and Rodney Judd, both of them former national champions, will be making their fifth and second appearance in the global event held in the odd numbered years.

Wasim Khatri, a discovery from the Inter-Schools tournament, appeared very confident of winning laurels in the World Championship.

“My aim is not only to finish among the top 10 but to bring home the title. I think that I do have the capability to go the distance,” the youngster, having won the national crown for the past couple of years, remarked in a brief conversation.

Pakistan have been represented in the World Scrabble Championship regularly since 1995 and their performance in the last event, held in Mumbai, India, a couple of years, was the best ever when Mohammad Sulaiman finished 20th.

The World Scrabble Championship was launched in 1991 in the United Kingdom (UK) and players from every continent have been contesting it since then in what has become the most sought after global event of the mind sport.

Nigel Richards of New Zealand will be the defending champion in the upcoming event, having annexed the title at Mumbai in 2007 in which a record number of 104 players had participated.

Even greater number of participants, 112 players from 40 countries would be taking part in the 2009 World Championship offering a prizemoney of US$30,500 with the winner to take home US$15,000 and the runner-up to collect US$6,000. The prizes will be disbursed among the players sharing the top 10 positions.

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Mind sports Collegiate Programme launched at Institute of Business Management

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The top officials of the Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) have expressed satisfaction at the successful launch of their Collegiate Programme at the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) in Korangi Creek, Karachi.

Tariq Rasheed Khan, Director, MSAP, who is also handling the Collegiate Programme, reckoned that the successful launch at the IoBM has opened the floodgates and quite a few other prestigious educational institutions have expressed the desire to adopt mind sports in the same way.

“The two-day activity at the IoBM was a dream come true occasion for the hosts as well as the organizers. It was very heartening to such an enthusiastic response that augurs very well for the future of mind sports in Pakistan. Among the students who enrolled themselves in the launch at the IoBM, as many as 50% participated in chess, 30% in scrabble and 20% in bridge,” he revealed.

The Students Activity Centre of the IoBM was flooded with the enthusiastic youngsters who were eager to be a part of history being made at the campus. It was for the first time when the college students were provided with a customized setup for the mind games.

In the welcome address in the inauguration ceremony Tariq Rasheed acknowledged the support of the various stakeholders who made the takeoff possible against the heaviest of odds.

“It’s always tough when you go about reinventing the wheel. We knew about the challenges when we embarked upon the mission of taking the mind sports to the educational institutions,” he observed.

“Since it was a new concept we needed to do presentations and convince the institutions about the virtues of the programme. It’s very heartening to note that the management of the IoBM, based on the feedback from the faculty and the students, took the lead and we are launching the programme now,” Tariq Rasheed added.

“It would not have been possible to do it without the support of the concerned quarters. We are grateful to our sponsors and the media for having lent us the desired encouragement. Our Board of Directors at the MSAP deserves compliments for having kept the ball rolling,” he said.

The Chairman of the MSAP, Kemal Shoaib, spoke about the aims and objects of the body that was formed under the leadership of Khurshid Hadi last year.

He praised the management of the IoBM for having adopted the MSAP Collegiate Programme at their institution and hoped that this would help their students in further sharpening their skills.

Dr Faisal Farooqui, speaking on behalf of the IoBM, expressed his gratitude to the MSAP for having launched the programme, which he thought, would be hugely beneficial for their students.

“It’s quite an amazing effort on part of the MSAP to have integrated the games of bridge, chess and scrabble. All these games are extremely popular among the students and they would gain immensely by playing them in an organized manner. We are confident that our students will make the most of this opportunity and enhance their capabilities in the mind sports,” he noted.

Azwer-ur-Haq, President, Karachi Bridge Association (KBA), Shahzad Mirza, International Master and Secretary, Chess Players Association of Pakistan (CPAP), Shah Nawaz Khan, an ex-Secretary General, Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP) and Abdul Wahid Bhalia of the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) were also in attendance at the launch alongwith the MSAP officials, Kemal Shoaib, Tariq Rasheed Khan and Pervez Iqbal.

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Mind Sports Association join hands with Chess players’ body

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) has moved a step forward by having signed an agreement with the Pakistan Chess Players Association (PCPA) on August 20 to carry out their mutual objective of further development of the mind sport in the country.

The agreement was signed by Tariq Rasheed Khan, Director, MSAP and Shahzad Mirza, Secretary General, PCPA, with two former officials of the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP), Shah Nawaz Khan and Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, being the witnesses.

As a result of the agreement, the MSAP and PCPA will now join hands in particular for the Inter-Collegiate venture besides carrying out other chess promotional events from time to time.

The agreement has been signed initially for a period of three years and thereafter it could be extended to tenure of three more years with mutual consent.

The MSAP has recognized the PCPA being, founded last August, as a national body of the top chess players and organizers.

The PCPA, on its part, has agreed to unconditionally place their resources at the disposal of the MSAP, having reaffirmed its commitment by signing the agreement. It has been clarified that separate Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) will be signed specific between MSAP and PCPA for future events.

Tariq Rasheed Khan, Director, MSAP, described the signing of agreement with the PCPA as a big step towards the further promotion of chess in the country.

“The longest of journeys commence with the first step. We are delighted to have on board the active chess players and organizers who could really make things happen on a fast track,” he reckoned.

Shahzad Mirza, one of the only two International Masters of chess in Pakistan, also believed that the MSAP support for the PCPA would be hugely beneficial in generating more activities from the grassroots level.

“The PCPA has come alive with this agreement. This was the impetus we needed to make our presence felt on the scene in a big way. Our joint efforts would certainly help in raising the standard of chess in Pakistan that’s very much on top in the list of our priorities,” he added.

The agreement between the MSAP and the PCPA augurs very well for the future of mind sports in general and chess in particular. Together they can certainly take the game to another level.

It’s indeed a pity that like many other sports, chess has also suffered due to the politicking by the national federation whose officials have actually done more harm to the game instead of having contributed anything for its development.

The emergence of the MSAP last year was a blessing as they arrived on the scene with some concrete plans and more importantly the idea was to ‘give’ rather than ‘take’ anything away from it.

Bridge and scrabble are the other two games being promoted by the MSAP who are fortunate to be having visionary leaders like Khurshid Hadi and Tariq Rasheed Khan. Both these gentlemen are from the sport of bridge but they are equally interested in promoting chess and scrabble.

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