Honk, honk… your move, dada

Remember late maestro Satyajit Ray's 1977 period film Shatranj Ke Khilari based on a short story by Munshi Premchand? The celluloid gem, subtitled The Chess Players in English, is etched in the memory of film aficionados owing to the two happy-go-lucky chess players essayed by Sanjeev Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey. The story is told in the backdrop of British expansion in India around 1856 and the fall of Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab of the princely kingdom of Oudh known for his patronage of dance and music and often referred to as a debauch.

In the movie, the two noblemen of Lucknow are endlessly playing chess, remaining indifferent to the political developments around them and the occupation of India by the foreign power. Even their neglected wives begin seeking the company of other men.

Cut from the celluloid world of a period drama to the bustling Gariahat traffic intersection in south Kolkata, known for its roadside garment kiosks and well-known shops and establishments.

Here in the sweltering heat of one of the hottest summer days in June, people of all ages can be seen absorbed in a game of chess. With furrowed foreheads, eyes trained on the black-and-white chessboard and minds planning the next move, the brooding players of Gariahat are indifferent to the honking of cars and the clamour of the city all around.

When the news of Vishwanathan Anand's fifth hard-fought world title victory over his Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand broke on May 30, some people were busy playing chess at the Gariahat boulevard.

The informal gathering of players has given birth to a club that is now called Gariahat Chess Club.

Tarai Chakraborty, a 26-year-old M.Tech student of Jadavpur University, visits the Gariahat boulevard for a game of chess now and then.

“I am a student of computer science and I think what I learn in university classes has a practical extension here in Gariahat when I play chess. Both computer science and chess, after all, revolve around artificial intelligence,” he says.

“It is not that I can come every day, but whenever I can, I come here to play,” he adds.

But there are others who never miss a day's play. Forty-year-old Sanjiv Burman of Lansdowne, about 3 km from Gariahat, is a small-time trader who rushes to the boulevard every evening for his daily high from a game of chess.

“I have played several tournaments too. It's a kind of addiction for me. I find real happiness here after a game of chess,” he confesses.

Abhijit Saha, Secretary of GCC, says the club has today more than a hundred avid chess players who play under the flyover through the day and until 10 at night.

“We charge a small monthly membership fee of Rs 10 so that all sections of people can play here,” says Saha.

“Gariahat is traditionally known for its hawkers, who run the pavement kiosks selling everything from garments to jewellery. Many of our young players are actually sons of the hawkers,” he says.

As the crowd of chess lovers grew in Gariahat, so did the number of players who frequent local chess tournaments and even participate in State-level competitions, says another official of the club.

“The notable chess players of south Kolkata such as Kunal Chatterjee, Dyutimoy Mukherjee, Sarbajit Adhikary, Himadri Biswas, Sanjib Burman, Subir Ghosh and others also began to frequent the venue and sometimes spurred each other in a rapid round of chess,” says Debashis Basu, president of GCC.

“We rejoice whenever our regulars take part in competitions or win prizes. Inspired by the success of a few from here, others also venture into competitions,” he says.

The informal gathering of chess lovers in the area since the late 1980s took shape as a chess club in November 2006.

The presence of Grand Master Dibyendu Barua and West Bengal Chess Association secretary Udayan Ghosh also helped to popularise the chess fraternity of Gariahat further.

The objective of GCC is simple, says Basu.

“We are keen to bring this game of skill, which needs very little money, to the grassroots level and popularise it especially among schoolchildren. We are trying to make some useful contribution to the cause of the cerebral game,” he says.

With the latest world title garnered by Anand, the enthusiasm has only grown in the Gariahat boulevard.

As 35-year-old Basudev Haldar, who plays under the flyover until 10 every night, sums up: “We are proud of Vishwanathan Anand, and our love for the game has grown with each of his achievements. Perhaps one day a future Vishy will emerge from here.”

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