Bengaluru: Atanu Lahiri travelled to Bhutan on a lark in 2005.
In 2014, he was head of the delegation when Bhutan made its debut at the Fide Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway. Not knowing if they’ll manage funds to travel for the Olympiad,” the 54-year-old international master, who has also had coaching stints with players from Nepal, Guyana and Eswatini, told HT. Kitts and Nevis, in the Caribbean, was introduced to Indian Fide arbiter, trainer and author Praful Zaveri, through one of his chess books during the 2022 Chennai Olympiad. After losing 0-4 in the first two rounds, on Friday, Carl Victor Adams, an unrated player in the team, defeated a 1929-rated Bermuda player. In 2023, Mokal began working with Anvita and her friend, Zara Majid. With the women’s team’s 2022 Olympiad coach playing in the Open section this time, Mokal, already coaching two team members, was a natural choice.
Now, an Indian chess player had appeared at their office offering precisely that. Sixteen years later, he’s with the Bhutan team again at the Olympiad in Samarkand as their Open team captain. Lahiri has been dealing with a recurring challenge. Players who show promise often end up migrating out of the country in search of livelihood. New players emerge and Lahiri has to start all over again. Bhutan currently has one titled player, a Candidate Master. “Also, the uncertainty. St. It was what their then coach recommended. Ahead of this Olympiad, when Fide called for expressions of interest in coaching the side, Zaveri applied. The book connection helped. Only one player in their Open team has a Fide classical rating. “Their middlegame skills are strong but openings need work. I usually have to begin with general opening theory before getting into any complex topics. For international master Prathamesh Mokal, the unlikely link to the Cayman Islands was Indian grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, who recommended him as coach to the parent of an Indian-origin Cayman Islands player, Anvita Patil. His next job was to get to know the rest of the team. “A couple of them had never had a coach before so they had very little idea about many aspects of the game.
“They don’t have rated tournaments and have to travel to Barbados to play one,” Zaveri, who is captaining their Open team at the Olympiad, told HT. “I’m hoping a few of them can get Fide ratings by the end of the Olympiad,” Zaveri said. What they have is fantastic fighting spirit,” Mokal told HT.
Only a week earlier, they had been writing to chess players in other countries looking for someone who might help bring organised chess to Bhutan.
