WHEN STATES such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu made chess compulsory in their schools, Haryana on the other hand, had its own stance, as Haryana Education Board relegated the sport from its annual Sports calendar in 2011. Naresh Shrama, Secretary General for Haryana Chess Association, while replying to merinews.com said, “It was disappointing when I heard that the sport has been removed”.

Hence, Sharma wrote a letter addressed to the Director, Haryana Education Board, but he has not received any feedback yet. When Merinews.com tried to contact the Board Director, N.K.Salwan, he at first said that ‘the board is not involved in the process’, but later on, changed his stance and said, “we have not received any such letter from anyone.” Sharma has his records with him to show the letter, dated 2nd November, 2011. Who knows, if the letter was crumbled by members of the Haryana Education Board into the dust-bin?

The popularity of the sport has been rapidly increasing in Haryana, as students are very eager to learn the game and compete at the highest level. He also says that children have not been neglecting their studies for chess, as these chess players have been scoring good marks in their schools too. So, why did the education board relegate a sport, which has been considered to help in the overall development of the students? Chess helps in building concentration and can also prove to be a mental exercise for the students.

Sharma has been very supportive of the game, as he realises the potential of the sport, especially in Haryana. He says, “When a chess tournament is organised in various places in Haryana, there are more than 300 participants, which talks about the interest that has been generated by the sport”. According to Haryana Chess Association, there were only 10 -12 players who were rated by the World Chess federation five to six years ago. The numbers have changed considerably as there are around 100 players who are rated by the World body, at present, in Haryana alone.  

There have been instances in the past, where Haryana Education Board has organised Chess tournaments and they have been helped by the Chess association members. Sharma says, “The game is technical, hence their sports teachers lack knowledge about it”. He also points out the lack of qualified teachers for Chess as the reason, for the game being relegated from Annual Sports Calendar.