chessbase india logo

Sarees and diamonds at the rest day of women's National Premier

by Sagar Shah - 01/12/2017

It is a well-known fact that women usually love shopping. But women chess players are too busy calculating the complications of a rook ending or planning a minority attack, to have the time to pamper themselves! Well, Surat is a hub for sarees and diamonds and the organizers made sure that they gave the players a good feel of both the products. At Shairu diamonds the players were shown how a diamond is made and at Laxmipati Saree store they were given the freedom to choose one saree free of cost! Naturally, the sheer number of candidate moves left all the players confused, but everyone did find a saree they loved and went back home refreshed for the second half of the event!

Usually Chess players are seen hunching over the board trying to make a choice on what is the best possible move in the position! Rest days in the tournament are spent in the bed, watching a movie, preparing for an opponent or washing clothes! However, at the Women's National Premier 2017, the organizers did a fantastic job to not only keep the players entertained on the rest day, but also to educate and finally amaze them!

The first stop was at the Shairu Gems where the players learnt how diamonds are prepared | Photo: Ankit Dalal

Mr. Ashok Mehta gifted all the chess players a silver coin as a token of appreciation | Photo: Ankit Dalal

The players gifted them a chess board signed by them! | Photo: Ankit Dalal

This educational visit helped the players to understand how much work goes into creating a diamond. Did you know Surat is currently the biggest center of diamond cutting and polishing in the world! | Photo: Ankit Dalal

Next stop was at the Laxmipati saree shop - one of the most famous saree shops in Surat | Photo: Ankit Dalal

Surat is a textile hub and one of the best places to go for Saree shopping. Mr. Niraj Murarka sponsored one saree per player at the Laxmipati shop. The players had a wide range of sarees to choose from. A choice that some of them found more difficult than finding a brilliant combination on the chess board! All the players bought one or more sarees and although it is not a compulsion, it would be a nice gesture from their end if they wore it at the closing ceremony.

Padmini Rout ensured that she not only amassed maximum number of points in the tournament, but also maximum number of sarees at the shop! | Photo: Ankit Dalal

Padmini in yellow or.... | Photo: Ankit Dalal

...Padmini in black?! | Photo: Ankit Dalal

Mission accomplished! | Photo: Ankit Dalal

Bhakti realized why her mother would take so much time for saree shopping! Finally after getting confused for quite some time she did buy a saree of her favourite colour. Can you guess what colour it was? | Photo: Ankit Dalal

Even the chief arbiter IA Vijayaraghavan V could not hold back himself from taking home a saree! | Photo: Ankit Dalal

That's what we call an ideal rest day! | Photo: Ankit Dalal

The entire Saree shopping experience captured in video:

A huge congratulations to the Gujarat State Chess Association (GSCA), the organizing committee of the 44th Iwasa National Women's Premier and the Sponsors. They have truly shown what out of the box thinking is and the respect shown to our top women players is a great gesture appreciated by the entire chess community.

Related:

Rating avg: 2531, come play the strongest online blitz tournament in India


Contact Us