After remaining inactive for eight years, the Bhutan Chess Federation is making a strong comeback. The federation may not have won a major title for the country yet but is gradually igniting an interest among schoolchildren in chess. Lhundrup Minjur Dorji, a young student, is one among some dreaming to become a professional chess player someday. He represented Bhutan at the FIDE World Schools Team Chess Championship held recently in Kazakhstan. His team may not have achieved any medals during the championship, but Lhundrup’s outstanding performance has brought much pride to the country.
Bhutan Chess Federation established in 2004 remained active until 2013. After that, the federation became inactive due to a lack of equipment and professional trainers.
It was only in 2021 that the federation began reviving chess by organizing chess competitions within the country and by participating in international tournaments.
Following the revival, the federation saw an encouraging number of chess lovers coming forward to participate in numerous competitions.
Between 2021 and this year, the federation took around 30 Bhutanese chess players to compete in international tournaments.
One among them is 14-year-old Lhundrup who first started playing chess towards the end of 2021. In less than two years, Lhundrup has become one of the most skilled chess players in the country.
He has won the Thimphu District Inter-School Invitational Team Chess Championship, the National Online Chess Championship, the under-18 and the under-24 National Chess Championships, and National Youth Chess Championship. He also represented the country in the 2023 Chess Olympiad in India.
Similarly, he also represented Team Bhutan in the under-18 World Schools Team Chess Championship recently in Kazakhstan and secured the 5th position in the board ranking out of 43 Players in his group.
He played 7 games out of 8 matches and had the best results in the team with 5 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss.
“I started playing just one year and eight months ago and during that period, I’ve been playing tournaments and also receiving coaching from people from outside Bhutan. I initially started chess because I was going to a winter camp for chess and I liked playing it. So, from that day on, I wanted to put more time and effort into chess. I also started to play and win tournaments which made me even more interested in Chess,” said Lhundrup.
Similarly, the ninth-grade student from Dr. Tobgyel School hopes to bring medals for the country from international tournaments.
“In the future, I also hope to bring medals for Bhutan and make all Bhutanese proud and prove to the world and show that even Bhutanese can do well on the international stage.”
The school management says they make sure that the students can participate in tournaments without compromising their studies.
“To make up for their regular learning classes, we do have remedial for them. And we also focus on the classrooms. So, when they have PE classes and when they have free periods or during substitution periods, these children come to the teacher and the teacher gives them some time to clear their doubts about the topics which they have missed,” said Bir Bdr Battarai, the Principal of Dr. Tobgyel School in Thimphu.
Likewise, Lhundrup’s parents are equally supportive and seek coaching classes and tuition to improve his chess skills without affecting his studies.
After school, Lhundrup spends one and a half hours every day practising and learning skills to play chess. He also pays equal attention to his studies and is a topper in academics.
To encourage more youths in playing chess, the federation plans to continue organising tournaments at both local and international levels hereafter.
Karma Wangdi
Edited by Phub Gyem
