The Gift of Chess Initiative aims to distribute 30,000 chess sets in India
"The Gift of Chess" is a non-profit organization whose aim is to distribute 1 million chess sets across the world by 2030. Chess, according to them, has the power to bring about transformation. And so why not begin with a chess set! They have already begun their work in right earnest in more than 25 countries. And now they would like to begin their work of distribution of the chess sets in India. This they would like to do in collaboration with ChessBase India. The aim is to make 1000 chess sets available to each of the states of the country. But firstly we are beginning with 1000 chess sets! Read the article and apply for your gift of chess!
What sets humans apart from other beings is our drive and desire to dream. Someone dreams of having a meal to survive, while the other dreams of professional growth. Someone dreams of walking on their feet, while the other dreams of being able to rest. Someone dreams of being loved, while the other dreams of personal space. Our community thrives on millions of dreams seen and lived every single day, and the one commonality amongst all of these are the desire to make life better than yesterday. One such dream of ChessBase India has been “Powering Chess In India”. But what if we could power India through chess?
As the country celebrated its 78th Independence Day (on 15th of August) with “har ghar tiranga” meaning proudly hoisting our flag at every home, we launch a powerful and potentially life-transforming campaign called “The Gift of Chess” for India! A campaign that dreams of building a chess culture in every home! With this campaign, we aspire to distribute 30,000 chess sets across the country trying to reach as many remote communities, players and families. In this article we take you through the journey of this campaign and how to avail its benefits if you are a chess enthusiast/player/educator yourself :)
What is The Gift of Chess?
The Gift of Chess is a 501(C)(3) charitable organization transforming lives through the universal language of chess. It was founded by Russell Makofsky, Tyrone Davis III and Ryan Rodrigues during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. They aim to donate 1 million chess sets globally by 2030. The Gift of Chess aims to expand the universal language of chess, creating opportunities and connections through giving access to a physical chess set, educational chess technology, and inclusion into a supportive chess community. Their three key global initiatives have been that of: Educational Outreach, Prison Outreach and Refugee Outreach with a chess board being a tool in driving changing lives of school kids, prisoners and refugee communities.
Chess as a tool for Social Reforms
Chess has the inherent features to make us feel focused, analyze our mistakes, improve strategy, be concentrated, and become better decision makers. But more than that the inclusive nature of the sport has made chess into a tool to empower communities. One such beautiful story is that of Marottichal, a village in Kerala, where the game of chess acted as a saviour in curbing the consumption of alcohol, changing the fate of nearly 1500 families in the village.
FIDE's “Chess For Freedom” program is also built on the belief of the power of chess in shaping and changing minds of people into building a transformed and better life after liberation. Sagar Shah visited the Yerwada Prison in Pune in June 2024 as a part of Chess for Freedom Program organized by FIDE and Indian Oil. The team formed by the prison inmates of Yerwada won the FIDE Inter continental championship for Prisons in 2023 and won the bronze medal in 2022. Here’s a video on how the game of chess gave a new purpose and aspiration to the prison inmates at Yerwada!
Meeting Susan Namangale, the Global head of Gift of Chess
Earlier this year, when Gift of Chess reached out to ChessBase India on their vision of distributing 1000 chess sets in each state of India, all we had with us was a dream to reach and empower the last mile person/family/community in the country through a 64 squared chessboard. As we started building a team for launching this project, we crossed our paths with Susan Namangale. An environmental scientist from Malawi who went on to become the Global Head of The Gift of Chess. Her story is that of a little girl who learnt chess from her sister to becoming a life-force, driving change in the communities and prisons of her country through chess. We interviewed her to know more about her journey and this campaign, during her visit to our Mumbai office.
The Man Behind the making of Chess Sets
As we are getting ready to kick-start the distribution of 30,000 chess sets in the country, the question is “Where would these chess sets come from?” The rise of this question is when Susan introduced us to an important person and a selfless human being named Sagar Sanghvi, the owner of Speedy Products! Sagar volunteered to manufacture and provide 30,000 chess sets at economical prices for this beautiful campaign. What is notable in his production process is the fact on how his company empowers women from the slums of Mumbai in the making of these chess sets! The thought of not just providing chess sets to the needy but to also generate employment through the same, is what is the “gift” of chess to our society!
Gift of Chess in India
We are launching Gift of Chess in India today with 1000 chess sets for the people who fill in the form below! We aim to reach communities, schools, families, players in need of a chess set to start or continue their chess journey! If you are someone who requires a chess set for yourself or to teach a community nearby, feel free to fill this form! You could use these chess sets for your personal progress, to teach at social homes, distribute and teach to marginalized communities or however you feel is the best way to use one to empower people around you!
Fill in the Google form to apply for your "Gift"
