Kingsize dream: Nondescript Gujarat village aims to produce chess grandmasters

Balasinor (Gujarat): Ratusinh Na Muvada, a remote village in Gujarat’s Mahisagar district where even state transport buses don’t ply, is turning heads with the right moves.

The tiny settlement of about 100 houses has been churning out state-level chess champions, with six kids from the village securing the prestigious International Chess Federation, or FIDE, rankings.

The man behind the grand dream is Sandip Upadhyay, a teacher at the government primary school in the village, about 100 km from the state capital Gandhinagar. Since 2022, he has trained nearly 200 children, mostly from underprivileged families.

Upadhyay, 45, said he is currently teaching chess to 100 of the 138 students, from kindergarten to Class 8, and 70 of them have already been deftly moving the “king, queen, rook, knight and other pieces”.

It all started in 2021 when Upadhyay, who was good at chess since childhood, read a book by a motivational speaker and decided to transform the lives of the schoolkids.

“This village is so remote that even state transport buses do not come here,” said Upadhyay, who joined the school 25 years ago.

Since most children belonged to the families of poor farmers and farm labourers, they could not buy chess kits. The teacher said he used his modest salary to get chessboards, books, and clocks.

He often contributed to students’ travel and registration fees, ensuring no child missed a tournament due to poverty. Many times, he even borrowed or raised small amounts through colleagues and villagers to take his students to competitions, said Upadhyay.

“I used to show my students videos of international chess players like D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen and ask them to remember the moves. You will find my students playing chess during recess, after school hours or on Sundays. I even train them at the school during Diwali and summer vacation,” said Upadhyay.

The teacher’s hard work has started paying off.

He said 14 of his students have been selected under the District Level Sports School (DLSS) scheme. They were admitted to schools in Vadodara and Botad, where the government will provide further training and education till Class 12 at no cost.

“Six of our students have bagged FIDE rankings so far. Our students have emerged winners in taluka and district level tournaments and remained among the top three or five in state-level tournaments,” said the proud teacher.

In just four years, primary school students of this humble school have competed in nearly 25 state-level tournaments, including Khel Mahakumbh, and finished among the top three in about 20 such competitions, he said.

Seven of the eight students selected for the state-level competitions in June 2024 were from this school in Ratusinh Na Muvada, he said.

In March this year, girls from the school excelled in the International Women’s Day Tournament in Ahmedabad, winning medals across Under-9, Under-11, Under-13, and Under-15 categories.

That same month, an organisation named Narhariprasad Charitable Trust held a tournament at Ratusinh Na Muvada, where the home school’s students won in every age group, he said.

The school also received corporate support in March, when a cement company donated 30 clocks and as many chess sets.

“We are yet to make a mark at the national level. I hope my students will one day achieve that feat. My goal is to produce 50 Grandmasters and 10 World Champions from rural Gujarat,” he added.