Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant inaugurated the Goa Chess Academy at Manohar Parrikar Indoor Stadium, Campal, marking a significant milestone in the promotion of chess in the state.The academy aims to nurture young chess talent, provide professional coaching and strengthen Goa’s presence in national and international chess competitions.“We hosted the Chess World Cup and now we have a chess academy of our own,” Sawant said on Thursday. “This academy will provide a higher level of coaching. Our Goan players are doing very well internationally. It’s time to move to the next level. Goa also has three regional centres. Our plan is to start taluka-level classes too so that talent from rural areas get proper training.”Goa has three grandmasters – Anurag Mhamal, Leon Mendonca and Ethan Vaz – besides IM Bhakti Kulkarni, Goa’s only Arjuna Award winner beyond football.The Goa Chess Academy is expected to serve as a dedicated centre for training, talent identification, coaching camps, tournaments, and the overall development of chess in Goa, encouraging more young players to pursue excellence in the sport.Meanwhile, GM Ethan Vaz was felicitated with a ₹5 lakh cash award, while the Goa Chess Association received ₹20 lakh govt support for the Manohar Parrikar chess tournament.Goans have known chess for ages. There are records to suggest that chess tournaments were held here even prior to Liberation from Portuguese rule, though a formal All Goa Daman and Diu Chess Association came into existence only in 1973. The sport took off at the turn of the century, when players like Ivana Furtado, under-8 and under-10 World Youth Chess Championship twice in a row (2006, 2007), and Bhakti Kulkarni, state champion in the open category at just 11 years of age, set the bar high as kids.
