This 100-house Gujarat village has 17 international chess players: How one teacher’s dream of turning needy kids into grandmasters is making India proud

A tiny Gujarat village with just around 100 households is building a remarkable reputation as a nursery for young chess talent. Ratusinh Na Muvada in Mahisagar district could soon be home to what may become India’s biggest government chess school, giving talented rural children access to professional training and better opportunities.

Read more: Mysterious well in Gujarat’s Morbi keeps producing strange waves without earthquake; locals gather to witness the unusual phenomenon

The proposed campus is taking shape nearly a year after TOI highlighted how nearly 200 children, many of them from families of daily-wage workers and farm labourers, were learning chess under the guidance of maths teacher Sandip Upadhyay.

Gujarat village chess school project gathers pace

The Mahisagar district administration has accelerated the process of identifying suitable government land for the proposed chess school. The new campus is expected to be around 8.5 times larger than the existing school, which currently operates from a small cement-roofed building with five rooms, only two of which are usable.

Read more: Flu not going away? Delhi-NCR reports 1,344 H1N1 cases; doctors reveal warning signs you shouldn't ignore

The proposed new building will be developed under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and will include a dedicated hall specifically for chess coaching.

Why Ratusinh Na Muvada needs a bigger chess campus

The existing facility has struggled to accommodate the growing number of children interested in chess. What began as an initiative to introduce the game to local students has evolved into a much larger movement, attracting young players from the surrounding region.

Read more: Anand Mahindra gets teary eyed over Smriti Irani's 'you're raising someone to forget you' take on motherhood

Mahisagar collector Arpit Sagar said the administration had earlier identified land for the project, but the site would have required extensive landfilling because of ravines.

Speaking to TOI, Sagar said, “The land identified earlier required substantial landfilling because of ravines, which would involve considerable expenditure. We are now identifying another suitable parcel of govt land for the project. We have already discussed the proposal with officials of Samagra Shiksha.”

Maths teacher turns village school into chess powerhouse

The transformation of the school began in 2021, when maths teacher Sandip Upadhyay introduced chess to students.

Since then, the school has developed into a promising training ground for young chess players. Upadhyay has set an ambitious target of producing 50 grandmasters and 10 world champions.

His vision extends beyond simply creating chess champions.

Speaking to The Times of India, Upadhyay said, “My concept is that not only children from our own village but also those from across the country who are needy and do not get a proper platform can stay here and undergo coaching for chess. Along with chess, they should also prepare for competitive examinations like GPSC and UPSC as well.”

16 FIDE-rated players emerge from Gujarat village school

The initiative has already produced encouraging results. As many as 16 students have become FIDE-rated players, marking a significant achievement for a school in a small rural village.

Another 21 students have secured admission to the Gujarat government's District Level Sports School (DLSS), where they receive specialised sports coaching along with education and residential facilities.

The achievements have helped put Ratusinh Na Muvada on the map as an emerging rural chess hub in Gujarat.

Gujarat grandmaster offers free chess coaching

The school's growing reputation has also attracted attention from Ankit Rajpara, one of only two chess grandmasters from Gujarat.

Rajpara has been conducting a free coaching session every month for the students for the past seven months, providing them with access to advanced chess guidance that would otherwise be difficult for many rural families to afford.


Inputs from TOI