AICFB successfully kicks-off four-day National School Chess Championship for the Blind at Alandi

Pune, December 18, 2019: The four-day ‘IndusInd Bank presents National School Chess Championship for the Blind’ organized by the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) got off to a great start. Over 200 participants from 16 states in the age group of 7 to 18 years – including over 70 girls – representing 35 different schools and institutes. There will be 65 prizes for five categories – Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and the Rest – and one National School Trophy. The Championship is being held at Phoolwala Dharamshala, at close proximity to the ‘samadhi’ of Maharashtra’s most favorite saint, Sant Dnyaneshwar from December 18th to 21st 2019 at Alandi, near Pune. This initiative is supported by IndusInd Bank Ltd.

Dr. Ganpat Jadhav, Dean of the Rural Hospital at Alandi was the Chief Guest. The Championship was declared open by Guest of Honour, Mr. Ajit Wadgaonkar, Secretary of the Shri Dnyaneshwar Shikshan Sanstha, Alandi and Executive Member of the Association of Education Institutes of Maharashtra. Mr. Bandekar, a social worker from Alandi was also present on the occasion

There were two rounds played on Day 1 and results of Day 1 are as follows:

Among girls, the following 19 players are leading after winning both their two games:

Megha Chakraborty (seeded player), Khorasia Khusali, Benke Vaishali, Dhobe Geeta, More Sanskruti, Muthe Akshada, Pardeshi Muskan, Vandana L, Yevle Yogita, More Vrushali, Awate Prisha, Shahina Ibrahim, Sumasree L, Gawate Ambika, Ghavhane Kajal, Jadhav Ashwini, Jain Vruthi, Kasbe Ankita, Vyavhare Mohini

Among boys, the following 36 players are leading after winning both their two games:

Nareshkumar P, Nayak Siddhant, Raj Das, Ojha Nikhil, Adakine Pawan, Ankit, Devendra, Raja Rehan, Gupta Ajay, Rakesh, Jadhav Aryan, Sadavarte Vikas, Karuppaiya E, Khandare Shubham, Kumar Aakash, Kumar Chintu, Tamkar Ganesh, Kurub Khadir, Somendra B L, Chaurasiya Adarsh, Nagaraju G, Md Israfil Bask, Nithin A, Pachani Vijay, Padale Dinesh, Gughan STS, Pandiyan E, Gupta Ayush, Pawan, Kachi Aniket, Saikrishna J, Saikumar, Sam Paniel P, Sonawane Krishna, Kumar Deepak, Waghamare Rushikesh.

About IndusInd Bank

IndusInd Bank, which commenced operations in 1994, caters to the needs of both consumer and corporate customers. Its technology platform supports multi-channel delivery capabilities. As on September 30, 2019, IndusInd Bank has 1753 branches/ banking outlet and 2662 ATMs spread across 742 geographical locations of the country. The Bank also has representative offices in London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Bank believes in driving its business through technology. It enjoys clearing bank status for both major stock exchanges – BSE and NSE – and major commodity exchanges in the country, including MCX, NCDEX and NMCE.

About AICFB

The All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) was established in 1997 and has been working for the promotion of chess in India for the visually challenged. AICFB is affiliated to the national apex body, All India Chess Federation (AICF) and recognised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), an international organization that connects various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition.

As on date, AICFB has a national footprint with 14 state bodies affiliated & more than 2,500 active chess players registered with it. AICFB has organized 19 zonal level chess tournaments, 9 National tournaments and sent Indian teams 12 times to participate in the World Chess Championship.

In 1998, AICFB was granted affiliation of the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA, which is responsible for the development and promotion of chess activities amongst the visually impaired all over the world.

Over the last 20 years, AICFB has successfully integrated India with the rest of the world of chess.India’s blind chess players have made tremendous progress, won medals at Chess Olympiads and other international championships, helping this country emerge as one of the strongest chess playing nations.