Treading on a checkered path

According to Vaze,the present generation has a very sharp intellect and are full of energy but yet they haven’t be able to utilize their intellect to the optimum level. The reason for it he believes is that they aren’t able to focus all their concentrating power in one place – a behaviour which we now know as ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Vaze strongly believes that chess might be the cure to that behaviour. He says,“The new generation is very sharp; their grasping power is also very good. The biggest problem with them is that they are hyper active. Sitting at one place and concentrating is a big problem for them. Probably chess is one of the games that will make them disciplined and help them in concentrating as well.”

The practicing doctor seems to be particularly disappointed by the fact that children spend their whole vacations doing nothing,sitting in front of television and computers. As a doctor,he says wasting time on such activities would have a negative effect on them and instead of that if they go out and learn something or play,it would be much better. He complained,“Rather than children sitting at home and watching a idiot box or playing video games,it is better if they come and attend these classes. It would be beneficial to them. And chess is a game of intelligence so naturally it will stimulate the grey matter of the brain. Along with that there many other advantages of playing chess even for youngsters. It helps in analyzing situations and mathematical calculations also becomes better and then it helps in overall personality development as you get to interact with other people here.” added Vaze throwing light on the aspects one can develop as a chess player.

Vaze,who has now been running these coaching classes for the past 13 years explains that he was a sport fanatic since his childhood. His first passion was cricket and that is evident from the huge library of books on cricket he owns. Having represented the Mumbai University on a national level,Vaze then turned towards other sports as years passed by. He explains,“Right from the beginning I had an inclination for sports. In our medical college I used to be a sports secretary. My first passion was cricket; I was an all rounder and represented Mumbai University. I was even awarded the best bowler award. As I grew older I realized this problem of youngsters. That is when I decided to promote chess and other sports.”

Vaze’s love affair with chess goes back to 1984 when he started a tournament exclusively for medical practitioners. Soon the movement grew and Vaze became a part of the Mulund Medico Sports club which is known to organize state-wide sporting events only for medical personnel. He then started Vaze Sports foundation which organizes open category tournaments as well. “We started a tournament for doctors in 1984. Our basic idea was to have a get together. We tell the patients to go for sports activities for better health,so we thought why not start doing it ourselves. Now we are organizing the tournaments not only for chess but also for carom,badminton and table tennis. Recently in the last couple of years we have started the lawn tennis event as well.” said Vaze.

Apart from organizing sports tournaments,Vaze takes free cricket umpiring classes every weekend in the summers for which he has enjoyed decent success. He said,“I take free umpiring classes in the months of April,May and June. Every year I get about 30-35 students. Generally from among my students appearing for the Mumbai cricket association exams,almost 80-90 percent gets selected. These free umpiring classes I’ve been holding for the past 15 years or so.”

Coming back to chess again,Vaze believed that one of the main problem in organizing classes and tournaments is finding a suitable place for it. As of now he organizes the classes in his dispensary itself. When asked about the progress his students have made in chess he answered,“Up to a certain age our students do very well. Some of them have even reached the nationals and the state level tournaments. But once the child goes into 9th or 10th standard the parents insist not to play chess but to concentrate on the studies. After that gap of 1-2 years they find it difficult to come back or maybe they lose interest.”

For a man of such enthusiasm in sports,Vaze never finds it difficult in shuffling time between his medical and his sports life. He has no plans of expansion as of now,because according to him its his hobby to teach chess and he doesn’t want to commercialize it.