Sat Dec 21 03:18:58 UTC 2024: ## Bengaluru Initiative Levels the Playing Field for Government School Chess Players

**Bengaluru, India (December 21, 2024)** – A new chess initiative is aiming to bridge the gap between privileged and underprivileged children in India. While the recent success of 18-year-old D Gukesh, a product of the elite Velammal school in Chennai, highlights the potential of chess education, the William D Pichamuthu (WDP) Inclusive Chess Initiative in Bengaluru is focusing on providing opportunities to children in government schools.

The WDP initiative, spearheaded by former municipal school headmaster William Pichamuthu and supported by veteran chess champion K Sai Prakash, recently concluded a talent search across Bengaluru Urban district. Twenty promising young players from government high schools competed in a November finale, earning a spot in an open tournament in January 2025.

The program aims to utilize chess as a tool for developing concentration and discipline, offering a pathway to improved academic and professional prospects. BH Thilak, a class IX student who won the November final, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, highlighting the lack of resources and support available to students in government schools. His physical education teacher, Reshma Nadaf, emphasized the initiative’s broader goal of improving the overall societal standing of these children.

Sai Prakash, founder of the Erin Foundation and a driving force behind the initiative, envisions a future with over 100 chess clubs in government schools, complete with full-time coaches and readily available resources. He believes that chess can offer benefits beyond the game itself, potentially leading to careers in chess or related fields within a growing private sector interest in CSR initiatives involving chess. The success of the WDP initiative, therefore, offers a model for addressing educational inequality through sports.

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