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By Devendra Gautam

Scene 1

Outside a Ganesh temple near Asan one cold January morning, a few random guys are flocking together. 

Birds of a feather, right? 

An ancient-looking tourist climbs the steps to look into the nest and returns, rather unimpressed, as his body language shows. 

This onlooker follows, only to find the guys playing a board game in which players advance counters by throwing dice on a mobile phone.

Apparently, such scenes are not quite rare in this place that light years away from Hastinapur! 

Scene 2

At a chess park in Kathmandu (perhaps the only chess park in the valley, to say the least), the clatter of a dice does not exactly sound like a piece of music to this sapien. Far from it. But then who cares? After all, everyone has an inalienable right to pursue their passion, right?

What are the stakes? Will that be the right question to ask the right people in the right way? 

Better move on, far away from the clatter. 

Scenes 3-4 

The 88th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Masters, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, is currently underway in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands (Here’s hoping that the tourney won’t be over before this piece sees the light of the day). The “Wimbledon of Chess” has a long-standing tradition and attracts some of the strongest players on the planet. The 2026 event (January 17-February 1) also has a very impressive lineup, featuring Vincent Keymer of Germany (rating: 2776), Arjun Erigaisi of India (2775), Anish Giri of the Netherlands (2760), Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu of India (2758), Gukesh Dommaraju of India (2754), Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan (2751), Javokhir Sindarov Javokhir of Uzbekistan (2726) and Hans Niemann of the United States (2725). 

The Tata event comes close on the heels of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (December 13-24, 2025) where Fabiano Caruana’s Alpine SG Pipers (4) won the league’s 2025 edition, leaving Alireza Firouzja’s Triveni Continental Kings and Gukesh Dommaraju‘s PBG Alaskan Knights behind as first and second runner-ups. 

The league featured a $10 million prize fund, of which $5 lakh was distributed on the basis of teams’ standings, $4.5 lakh on the basis of game points won throughout the event, and an extra $50,000 went to the winning team. 

A little bit of Nepal

According to anishgiriofficial.com, Anish Giri, son of a Nepali father and Russian mother, was born on June 28, 1994 in St Petersburg, Russia. An active chess player with the title of international grandmaster (GM), he met his final GM norm at the age of 14 years, 7 months and 2 days in the C Group of the 2009 Corus Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, becoming the youngest GM in the world at that time. He is the youngest ever GM in the chess history of Soviet Union/Russia and the Netherlands (when he achieved his third GM norm, Giri was affiliated with the Russian Chess Federation; currently he is affiliated with the Dutch Chess Federation).

Deeply rooted

Back to December last year. Part of my interview with Andrei Kiselenko, minister-counselor and charge d’affaires of the Russian Embassy in Nepal, which was published in a daily, goes: 

Russia remains one of the world’s strongest chess nations, and we take great pride in this tradition. Our grandmasters continue to perform at the highest international level, and chess is deeply rooted in our educational and cultural life. The game is widely practiced in schools, clubs and regional centers. It is truly a part of our national identity.

We also appreciate that even in the world of chess, Russia and Nepal have an unexpected yet beautiful point of connection in the personality of Anish Giri, who has both Russian and Nepali heritage. His success is a reminder that chess is a bridge between cultures and that our peoples can meet each other in the most inspiring ways.

Another positive example is the visit of a large Nepali delegation of the Nepal Chess Federation, led by its President Herakaji Maharjan, to the Republic of Kalmykia (a region within Russia) in September this year (2025). The delegation took part in the First Chess Tournament of Buddhist Countries. We were delighted to see Nepal so actively represented.

As for the future, we certainly see great potential for developing “chess diplomacy” between our two countries. Friendly tournaments, youth exchanges, training camps, master classes and participation in international competitions, all of these can strengthen not only the game, but also mutual understanding between our peoples.

And, if I may add on a personal note, it would be our dream to participate in a major chess event in Nepal—a tournament where, as always, the real winner would be friendship.

Sadly, not much seems to be happening on the chessboard in Nepal, though the game happens to be one of the cheapest compared to sports requiring billions of rupees for infrastructure development and other topics. By the way, amid increasing clatters, our very own Bagchal—a unique Nepali boardgame that involves protecting herds of goat from marauding tigers—has slipped into oblivion.    

Ignoring the clatter, striving for excellence

This should change, the tendency of holding a chess tournament worth its name once in a blue moon (the last time this enthusiast heard about a chess tourney was the eighth Tulsi Lal Memorial National Team Club Chess Championship-2025) should be a thing of the past. Perhaps we can draw inspiration from our next-door neighbour, India, that continues to produce so many ace players like Erigaisi, Dommaraju and Praggnanandhaa, giving continuity to the legacy of Viswanathan Anand, thanks to a thriving chess culture that ‘catches ‘em’ young and invests in them to hone their talents. In terms of market size, resources and talent pool, we are light years apart, but these aspects should not deter us, especially our budding talents, from striving for excellence, for that is what the game is all about.  

Ignoring the clatters of all sorts, it’s time for the government—at the centre, provinces and local levels—to join hands with the private sector, aficionados and friends from the international community to end the stalemate on our national checkerboard and strive to take the game to a whole new level.