The 44th Chess Olympiad offers a contrasting picture of experiences and expectations.
While the competition has ace teams like the United States and India looking to stamp their rights across the board, for some the Olympiad is an opportunity to allow the game to enter the mainstream of their countries.
South Sudan is one such country, they are trying to find support from an Indian coach – Vedant Goswami.
Vedant Goswami at Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram | Image source: Lavanya Lakshminarayanan
“I am part of a program sponsored by FIDE where they are introducing formal chess training in countries that do not have such facilities. It was an exciting experience because the women’s teams were completely new and some were introduced to chess six months ago and this was their first tournament,” said Goswami, who currently coaches Djibouti, a national team. East Africa, said.
The FIDE master and coach worked with South Sudan, the youngest country in the world, before the Olympiad campaign.
“Women need to be taught what we usually teach our kids when they start playing chess. I later learned that chess is played outside in bars, under trees – places where women would be uncomfortable. So this is the federation’s first official attempt at introducing women into the game,” explains Goswami.
A photo on Goswami’s phone shows training conditions in the Central African country: his players are huddled around regular laptops trying to understand the basics of the game.
Members of South Sudan at FIDE Chess Olympiad | Image source: Facebook / South Sudan Chess Federation -SSCF
“When we train in India, everyone has access to a private computer and personal access to the software. In this case everyone was gathered in one room including the officials and when I was suggesting positions I couldn’t tell who was answering my question. Their internet connection is also an issue,” he added.
Goswami believes that South Sudan’s social environment is reflected in the players’ approach across the board. Nation continue to deal with the aftershocks of a brutal civil war and community tension.
“Most of their games are very rudimentary in nature. Maybe that’s driven by their culture of instability and war because they want to attack all the time. They need to work based on playing position and other nuances,” he said.
Goswami feels that the next chess boom will happen in Africa and hails the Olympiad as a stepping stone to that end.
“South Sudan has sent a media representative with the team, who will relay updates about the country. Just the people and the government being aware of their involvement here would be huge to spark interest in the game there,” he added.
