Parental support is a big part of children pursuing their passion for any sport in general and chess in particular and Mustafa Motiwala and Vishal Patodekar are an embodiment of this aspect.
Travelling from Surat to Mumbai to support their sons Miqdad and Samarth participate in the SMCA All-India FIDE-rated chess tournament, these two fathers are journeymen in their sons’ pursuit of making a career in the competitive world of chess.
“It has been a very different experience. This kind of tournament my son has never played. For the first time, he is playing a FIDE tournament and that too for classical. Our goal was to bring him to Mumbai and open his rating points. Till now, he is playing well and better than expected. So far, so good. My son is 12 years and plays under-13. He regularly participates in Surat local tournaments but Mumbai for the first time,” explained Mustafa.
Vishal’s son Samarth on the other hand is a bit more experienced at FIDE-rated tournaments.
“This is not the first time. Last December, we came here for a tournament. I have travelled all over India for tournaments and here there is separate space for parents which is very good. My son is playing here and he is 15 years old. He started playing just two years back, bit late actually. Currently, he has increased 44 rating points,” Vishal revealed.
Chess has been incorporated in the school curriculum in certain states and Vishal vouched for that in Gujarat as well.
“In some schools, chess is there in the curriculum. The state also organises a Khel Mahakumbh. There is a chess tournament there. Vantika Agrawal, who a historic gold at the Chess Olympiad, had also taken part in the Khel Mahakumbh back in the day.”
Vishal further stated that his son’s entry into the world of chess happened because of him.
“Actually, I play chess so he also developed an interest. He started at the age of 13. But he picked up very fast after that.”
Mustafa’s son started relatively early in comparison.
Samarth in action
“My son started at nine. When Covid came, we were stuck at home. He did online training, sometimes he beats players ranked higher but he needs to be more consistent. In school, he is number one. In studies, he is relatively good. I’ve already spoken to his principal that if he participates at state-level and national level tournaments, please be flexible with his school work,” he added.
Vishal is clear about chess being the main priority as far as his son’s life is concerned.
“Chess is the main priority. So we have taken a dummy school in Maharashtra and he follows the online Cambridge curriculum and it is more of home tutoring,” he added.
Mustafa feels chess has had ripple effects on his son’s academic growth as well.
“My son’s mathematics has improved a lot. So chess has helped him in developing his mind. Right now, we have not yet fully committed him into chess but ultimately the aim is for him to become a professional chess player.”
With regard to training, Mustafa states Miqdad spends 4-5 hours daily on chess training and he also gets homework from his coach.
Vishal is looking forward to Samarth playing more tournaments in Mumbai in November and one in Pune in December.
