Dennis Kow scholarship of Rs.51,000 for the differently abled
This is the third scholarship by the HelpChess Initiative of ChessBase India Foundation. This scholarship is specially instituted for differently abled players. This includes visually challenged, physically disabled, deaf and mute. Rs.51,000 have been contributed by the Jagadeesh family (Rs.30,000) and 9-year-old Suhaani Lohia (Rs.21,000). The scholarship is in the memory of Late Mr. Dennis Kow, a man who believed everyone in this world is special, and that chess is a wonderful game. The winner of the scholarship will be decided based on his/her achievements and suitability by the panel and the people who have instituted the scholarship. The last date for application is 25th of December 2018.
The HelpChess Initiative by ChessBase India Foundation has two active scholarships at the moment. The MKG Scholarship of Rs.50,000 was won by K. Priyanka and the "Pursue your Chess" Scholarship also of Rs.50,000 was won by Sammed Shete. It is now time for us to launch our third Scholarship - the Dennis Kow Scholarship of Rs.51,000.
Scholarship Name:
Dennis Kow Scholarship for the specially abled chess players
Nature of Scholarship:
Annual scholarship Rs. 51,000 per year. The scholarship will begin from 1st of January 2019 and in the first month the winner will get Rs.7,000, followed by 11 months of Rs.4,000.
Why is this scholarship instituted?
In fond remembrance of Mr. Kow Chong Ann Dennis from Singapore who passed away this year at an active age of 52.
Who was Dennis Kow?
By Jagadeesh Balakrishnan
Born on 2nd of January 1966 into a Peranakan family, Dennis was the youngest among 3 boys. He had always had the privilege of being spared extra "duties" with the chores. Instead, he spent his time playing and toying with things around the house, including electrical appliances. He had always been intrigued, curious and passionate about mind games. His favourites were RISK, Monopoly, BRIDGE and not to mention Chess. He always believed in putting his best foot forward in all his endeavours.
What Dennis means to us as a chess friend: Dennis is a great chess parent who passionately groomed his son Bryan in to a rated chess player who plays actively in the local Singapore chess circuit. The memories of the father - son duo engaging in animated chess discussions, their passion to play the game and the friendships they built through chess with many chess families in Singapore will be missed by all of us for decades to come.
As a friend to me personally, Dennis shared the joys and burden of chess parenting, gave tips to my son Siddharth whenever he failed to perform, encouraged me personally to play chess actively for stress removal even though I was a beginner. Me and Dennis decided to improve our chess game together in ways we could. We both became rated players along the journey and we both enjoyed challenging the young Singapore boys who were far ahead in their chess skill compared to us. The joy of showing up on the chess board was incredible to us after a week of tough office work and we played for the fun of playing the game. We used to glance at each other's weekend HPE games organized by Singapore Chess Federation and give a dry smile - usually we both lost our games but nevertheless won over the stress!
Chess gave us many intimate moments that can't be retold simply in mere words. My wife also worked with Dennis in the same company a few years back, so we were connected throughout the journey. Dennis passed away on 15th of February 2018. Losing Dennis leaves a void that cannot be filled easily. Since Dennis always believed that chess is a sport that anyone should take up and recognized that everyone is special, we would like to institute this award in remembrance of him every year for the specially-abled chess players. Adding to the cash award, we are certain that Dennis will bless the recipient of the award and bless the chess community as a whole always. Long live his passion for chess in specific and mind games in general.
Dennis is survived by his wife Hwee Keow and their 2 sons.
How was the Scholarship fund created?
The interesting thing about this scholarship is that two families came together to put together the scholarship amount of Rs.51,000 - the Jagadeeshs and Lohias.
Dennis Kow was a very close friend of the Jagadeesh family (as can be known from the passage above). Jagadeesh Balakrishnan decided to institute a scholarship in the memory of his friend of Rs.30,000 for a year. Suhaani Lohia had just finished as the runner-up at the under-9 national championships in September. She had won Rs.21,000. She and her parents wanted to donate this amount to a specially-abled chess player. They decided to add the amount to the Dennis Kow Scholarship so that it would become Rs.51,000.
Who can apply?
All the differently abled chess players of India can apply for this scholarship. This includes physically disabled, visually challenged, deaf and mute and any other form of disability.
How to apply?
All those who would like to apply to this scholarship must fill the form below before 25th of December 2018:
To apply for the scholarship, you must fill this form
About HelpChess
HelpChess is an initiative by ChessBase India Foundation. It is the banner under which we want to continue all our charitable activities. The name clearly mentions what we are aiming for. We are looking for individuals who would like to help the talents of Indian chess by donating money or instituting a scholarship or donating in kind, so that the financial burdens on the players who come from humble background are reduced to an extent. The logo of HelpChess clearly shows this philosophy.
There are many people all over the world who want to contribute financially to the growth of Indian chess. There are many talents in India who are in need of these finances. HelpChess aims to act as a bridge. We believe that when ordinary people come together and contribute, extraordinary things can happen to our chess society.
Bank Details:
ChessBase India Foundation
HDFC Bank
A/C No. 50200031999591
Branch Name :- GHATKOPAR EAST-TILAK ROAD
Branch Address :- 001 / 002, Samyak Darshan, Junction Of Tilak Road & Vallabh Baug Lane, Mumbai,
IFSC CODE :- HDFC0000118
Related:
The Launch of ChessBase India Foundation
MKG Scholarship of Rs.50,000 for a girl under the age of 18
K. Priyanka wins the MKG Scholarship of Rs.50,000
Scholarship of free coaching for one year to the deserving candidate
Don't give up on your dreams, "Pursue Your Chess" Scholarship is here
Sammed Shete wins the Pursue your chess scholarship of Rs.50,000
Dennis Kow scholarship of Rs.51,000 for the differently abled
