Chess for freedom: A checkmate for stigma surrounding the incarcerated

It was the prison’s men’s team which bagged the medal last year. However, chess wasn’t introduced for women inmates until two months ago. “We are captive here and there is so much tension in the prison. Every minute feels like an hour, one day feels like one year. There are lakhs and crores of thoughts that make home in our mind. Thinking about my family, court cases and other worries would take up my mind space completely. But then out of the blue chess coaching started for us. It has only been two months, but I already feel confident that I can play. Earlier, I didn’t know anything about the game, just knew that some game of this name existed. But I didn’t think I would get to play it one day”, said a female inmate.

Chess training has been started for some ten female inmates in the prison. They spend their day farming and then training in chess for a few hours before 4 pm. In Wednesday’s friendly game with international delegates, a few women prisoners beat the delegates and were elated about that. After the game, their conversations revolved around who used which technique and what they could have done differently.

“Whenever someone thinks of prison, it’s a negative picture in their mind. But today with this set up and so many visitors, it feels so positive here. I am feeling so happy, especially after playing with the grandmasters”, said another female inmate.

Rashmi Govil, Director (HR), IndianOil, Mikhail Korenman, Social Commission Councillor, FIDE, Andre Voegtlin, Social Commissioner Chair, FIDE, Amitabh Gupta IPS, Additional Director General of Police of Prison and Correctional Services, senior officials from Prison department and IndianOil were present on the occasion.

Representatives from the jail authorities of other countries also joined the dignitaries.

Welcoming the FIDE delegates and IndianOil officials, Amitabh Gupta, said, “We have started introducing various activities in prison like bhajan competitions to foster prisoner reform. Our best shot at prisoners is at reform and not incarceration. Such activities are needed for mental stability. It is necessary to comply with laws, but also basic human rights should be taken care of. We are trying to provide more counselling, video conferences and improvement in canteen and rations”.

A female inmate talking about her experience of chess training said, “There are many other classes, but I liked chess the most. It helps my mind stay fresh. When I focus fully on chess, I can distract myself from worries, so it has helped me sleep”.

On the sidelines of the event, Sergejs Klimakovs, who fosters the chess classes in Latvia’s chess in prison programme said, “From what I hear, in India they practise five days a week, four hours in each session. So it is very telling as to why it’s so tough to fight against India”. Klimakovs, who played a game with a male inmate from Yerwada on Wednesday said, “It was an equal fight.”