A little known chess story: The carpenter who won a silver at Olympiad

Khan was a carpenter who fell successful emotion with chess aft learning the athletics connected the patiyas of Bhopal. Courtesy: Madhya Pradesh Chess Association/Akshat Khamparia

The Chess Olympiad, archetypal held successful 1927, is the astir prestigious lawsuit for nationalist teams successful the sport. It is simply a corporate flexing of the musculus successful a athletics that is mostly individualistic. Any federation tin luck retired and observe 1 prima with the imaginable to go the satellite champion. But to triumph Olympiad medals, you request astatine slightest 3 players of exceptional ability. The unsocial format of the Olympiad means that each federation designates players connected the 4 boards, with the apical committee players usually being the strongest subordinate successful the team. And portion the Olympiad is simply a squad event, determination are besides medals for each idiosyncratic board.

Both the existent Indian teams astatine this year’s Olympiad successful Budapest, which started connected September 10 and ends connected September 23, successful the unfastened and the women’s sections — are stacked with world-beaters and are apt to instrumentality location with medals. If they do, it volition beryllium a coming-of-age infinitesimal for Indian chess, which started sending teams to the Olympiad from 1956. Almost each of the 10 players competing for India astatine the Budapest Olympiad person akin stories successful the sport: they had entree to cutting-edge technology, similar chess engines, and got coaching from elite grandmasters precise aboriginal connected successful their tryst with the sport.

Khan’s benignant bosom and skills connected the chessboard earned him the respectful moniker of Ustaad successful Madhya Pradesh’s chess scene. Courtesy: Madhya Pradesh Chess Association/Akshat Khamparia

This is what makes Khan’s communicative basal retired adjacent more. He was a carpenter who fell successful emotion with chess aft learning the athletics connected the patiyas of Bhopal. Patiya is slang for a slab of chromatic oregon wood that is placed successful beforehand of beverage shops oregon the verandahs successful beforehand of homes successful Bhopal.

Starting his tryst with chess arsenic a patiya player, Khan ne'er became a grandmaster oregon adjacent an planetary maestro — the apical 2 titles chess players tin anticipation to achieve. However, his benignant bosom and skills connected the chessboard did gain him the respectful moniker of Ustaad connected Madhya Pradesh’s chess scene.

The signifier of chess that Khan learnt connected the patiyas of Bhopal was a somewhat antithetic mentation of planetary chess: successful desi chess, pawns could lone determination 1 quadrate up arsenic compared to the modern game, wherever pawns tin leap up 2 squares with their archetypal move. But that mattered for small erstwhile helium played competitively. Khan won the authorities title the archetypal clip helium competed successful it. Back then, determination was a two-tiered nationalist title successful chess: National A and National B. Players who did good successful National B would marque the chopped for National A. Playing successful the National A backmost past was a substance of prestige.

For galore successful Madhya Pradesh, Khan was a assets successful the pre-computer days of chess. Courtesy: Madhya Pradesh Chess Association/Akshat Khamparia

“Rafiq ji had what you would telephone a earthy talent. He could not work immoderate chess books due to the fact that books backmost past would exclusively beryllium successful English oregon Russian. And helium was not educated. Despite that, helium was a formidable player. His crippled play was precise practical. Not knowing however to work chess books meant that helium had precise small theoretical knowledge, truthful helium would not bash good successful the openings. But helium would marque up for it successful the mediate and extremity games,” Akshat Khamparia, Madhya Pradesh’s archetypal International Master, who is present a functionary successful the Madhya Pradesh Chess Association, tells The Indian Express.

“As a person, contempt the heights his crippled reached, helium was precise down to earth. He was Madhya Pradesh’s archetypal FIDE Master. A genius. If helium had received enactment successful those days from the authorities association, helium could person go our archetypal grandmaster. The authorities inactive does not person one. He was grandmaster material,” Khamparia adds.

The signifier of chess that Khan learnt connected the patiyas of Bhopal was a somewhat antithetic mentation of planetary chess. Courtesy: Madhya Pradesh Chess Association/Akshat Khamparia

Having known Khan, who died successful July 2019, Khamparia says that for galore Madhya Pradesh players, Ustaad was a assets successful the pre-computer days of chess. “Now you person computers that provender you the champion moves. But backmost then, you had to cipher everything yourself. This was the property of classical games being adjourned, erstwhile players would travel backmost and resume the crippled the adjacent time and would walk the nighttime plotting their play ahead. He would beryllium of large assistance to immoderate subordinate from Madhya Pradesh successful those days. People would support him awake each nighttime arsenic they huddled implicit the committee and tried to fig retired their adjacent moves,” says Khamparia.

The metallic medal astatine the Malta Olympiad aside, Khan’s astir memorable exploits connected the chessboard progressive defeating Belgian chess subordinate Albéric O’Kelly de Galway doubly by utilizing the O’Kelly Sicilian, a chess saltation successful the Sicilian Defence.

Chess aficionados accidental Khan was “naturally talented” since helium could not work immoderate chess books, which backmost past were exclusively successful English oregon Russian. Courtesy: Madhya Pradesh Chess Association/Akshat Khamparia

What was truthful singular astir those 2 wins? The defeats were singular due to the fact that a patiya subordinate from Bhopal defeated a Belgian maestro by utilizing a saltation named aft the latter, who was 1 of the foremost exponents of the move.