Plan to set up chess school

Updated on: Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Maharashtra could become home to the country’s first residential chess school. Chess grandmaster Abhijeet Kunte has approached the government with a request to allot 20,000 sq ft land for setting up one such facility.Kunte said that the proposed facility will be modelled on the lines of similar chess training schools in Russia and China, which have been key to the rise of several world chess champions.

The facility will identify and nurture budding chess talent, the grand master said. He added that plans were afoot to rope in foreign coaches and organise interactive training sessions with world class chess players. To provide further exposure to the students enrolled at the facility, Kunte said that there were plans to build infrastructure to allow national and international chess competitions to be held at the venue. Arrangements will be made to provide formal education in the proposed school’s campus.

The chess player said that he would like to set up the facility in Pune, which has turned out a number of quality chess players, including himself. He approached chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s office with the request on Monday. A senior state official, who keenly follows the game, supported the idea. “Such a facility will give talented youngsters much-needed exposure,” he said. Kunte met officials in the chief minister’s office with the request.

Even as the state government’s response is awaited, Kunte said he was already holding talks with reputed coaches like Evgeny Vladimirov (He has coached former world champion Garry Kasparov) regarding the training facility. Plans are to offer both short- and long-term training at the school.

Plan to set up chess school

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