It was a fantastic experience for 40 upcoming and talented chess players from the city as they had the opportunity to test their skills against Ukraine Grand Master Aleksander Goloschapov during a Simultaneous Exhibition Chess Match, organized by South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA) & IIFL Private Wealth on Saturday, at the at the IIFL Centre, Kamala Mills Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai.
From among the youngsters the most outstanding performance came from former Singapore Open champion Rishab Shah of Cathedral & John Connon School who managed to offer quite a stiff challenge to the Ukrainian GM and did well to squeeze out a creditable draw.
GM Aleksander Goloschapov, one of the top 10 coaches in the world, was very much impressed with the young chess enthusiasts. “All the players who pitted their skills against me are very talented and this exposure would certainly help them to go places. It’s also an opportunity for them to showcase their love and commitment towards chess,” he said.
The Ukrainian GM has worked with has worked with Indian Grandmasters, which include GM Parimarjan Negi, GM Shardul Gagare, and GM S.P. Sethuraman.
The event was the initiative of the South Mumbai chess Academy (SMCA) & IIFL Private Wealth Management as it their endeavour to promote the sport at the grassroots level and give the kids the exposure to play against more established players like GM Aleksander. Both SMCA and IIFL have been supporting the sport in a big way and working towards giving training to the city kids in the best possible way which will in any way help in developing the game in India. They have been organizing coaching camps to exposing the players to renowned Grandmasters and conducting International tournaments.
The parents were happy too, as their kids got a taste of top class chess. “It’s a great initiative by SMCA and IIFL to provide such a great platform for kids and I’m really happy and thrilled to see the competitiveness in my son (Aarav),” said Ankit Miglani, father of six-year-old, Aarav.
Attached photos caption: Ukraine GM Aleksander Goloschapov seeing playing against kids during a Simultaneous Exhibition Chess Match, organized by South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA) & IIFL Private Wealth on Saturday, at the at the IIFL Centre, Kamala Mills Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai.