Checkmate COVID Initiative Helps the Chess Community in India Combat COVID-19
Chess is popular in India largely thanks to Mr. Vishwanathan Anand, a five-time world chess champion and the first chess grandmaster from India in 1988. In 2020, Mr. Anand was stuck in Germany for several months due to travel restrictions caused by COVID-19. He famously made the adequate analogy of fighting coronavirus to “playing a game of chess with computers, which shows no emotions.”
Since April 2021, the devastating COVID-19 crisis has worsened in India. The number of coronavirus infections and deaths climbed, surpassing 30 million cumulative confirmed cases as of July 3rd, 2021 (Our World in Data: https://ourworldindata.org/). The pandemic affects all walks of life, including the community bonded by a shared passion for chess. Like the rest of India, many professional chess players and professionals involved in chess competitions are hospitalized for COVID-19 infections. Even as traveling restrictions gradually ease globally, vaccines remain limited in India. Only 20.5% of the entire population has been fully vaccinated (Our World in Data, July 3rd, 2021). This poses a dilemma for an economy in desperate need of recovery and normalcy. Many people cannot afford to follow social distancing or quarantine guidelines because of food shortage or poverty. Some chess players cannot compete in international tournaments due to the new requirement for COVID-19 vaccination in chess tournaments.
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) is an association that promotes chess in India. In May 2021, the association virtually launched an initiative appropriately named the “Checkmate COVID Initiative” to help the chess community combat the pandemic. The launch event was hosted by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) president Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich, Mr. Viswanathan Anand, World Rapid Chess Champion Ms. Koneru Humpy, the AICF president Mr. Sanjay Kapoor and secretary Mr. Bharat Singh Chauhan.
To support registered chess players, referees, organisers, coaches and retired players affected by COVID-19, AICF now provides financial aid, medical support, and home quarantine support to their members. A 24-hour hotline helps affected members to seek assistance. Moreover, the AICF assists players who are traveling for tournaments with vaccinations.
To learn more about the “Checkmate COVID Initiative” and give support, visit https://aicf.in/aicf-launches-checkmate-covid-initiative/ and please check out this video: https://youtu.be/qL0qgKEZRXI