May 03 2025 to May 03 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Chess, often called the “game of kings,” has evolved from its ancient origins into a global symbol of strategic intellect and mental endurance. Believed to have originated in India around the 6th century as chaturanga, it spread through Persia and the Islamic world into Europe, transforming into the modern game we know today by the 15th century.

Throughout history, chess has intersected with politics and culture—perhaps most famously during the Cold War, when the 1972 World Championship between American Bobby Fischer and Soviet Boris Spassky symbolized the ideological clash between East and West. The game became a subtle arena for geopolitical rivalry, with nations investing in elite training programs to assert intellectual dominance.

In recent decades, the rise of artificial intelligence has profoundly impacted the game. IBM’s Deep Blue defeating Garry Kasparov in 1997 marked a turning point, and today’s engines like Stockfish and AlphaZero have pushed human understanding of the game into new dimensions. These tools serve not just as opponents but as powerful training allies for modern grandmasters.

At the highest levels, chess is as much a mental sport as it is a strategic one. Elite players prepare rigorously—not only through deep study and memorization of opening theory but also with physical fitness, psychological resilience, and emotional regulation. In a world of rapid time controls and endless information, the modern chess player must be both a scholar and a warrior.

Chess today is more than a game—it’s a mirror of human progress, persistence, and the enduring power of the mind.

The session will see a panel discussion with Devaki Prasad, M S Thej Kumar, Aaravind Shastry, Manisha Mohithe and Vijay Mruthyunjaya. A Q&A session with the audience will follow.

Speakers

Devaki Prasad
International Master, Chess
Well into his 50s, Prasad famously ploughed a lonely burrow at a time when India was producing an assembly-line of Grandmasters as young as 12 (Gukesh and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa), 13 (Parimarjan Negi and Raunak Sadhwani) and 14 (Nihal Sarin). Paradoxically, he almost became a GM in 2019 at 57, when others in his age group were calculating their pension figures or figuring out retirement benefits. Playing in the 2019 World Senior (+50 years) Championships in Romania, he was in second position at one stage with 3.5/4. But that was not to be. However, by then his place among the pantheons of Indian chess masters was already cemented, thanks to his heroics in 1987 when as a 15-year-old he outwitted the greatest attacker of all time and a living legend GM Mikhail Tal at the World Chess Championship Interzonal tournament in Subotica, now in Serbia.  Prasad was one of the leading players in the 80s and became an IM at the age of 24, a relatively young age at that time. He won back-to-back national titles in 1990-91 and was part of the Indian Olympiad team on six occasions from 1996 to 2000. He became a FIDE trainer in 2019 and was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1987.

M S Thej Kumar
Grandmaster, Chess
In September, 2017, Thej Kumar became Karnataka’s first GM (and India’s 50th) at the age of 36, relatively old compared to other teenaged GMs at that time, but remarkably he achieved it without a professional coach and within six months (three IM and three GM norms). As if a mini-celebration, he won the Karnataka State Level Open Rapid Chess Tournament the next year with a perfect score of 9/9. Among his many other achievements, the notable ones are winning the 2013 Indian National B championship and the 2003 National U-25 Championship in India and the 2016 Liffre Open and the 2017 Guingamp Open abroad. His present goal is to become a Super GM.

Aravind Shastry
FIDE Master, Chess
A top state player at his prime, Aravind Shastry is a four-time Karnataka state champion (2000, 2002, 2003, 2012). Today, he is the go-to-man when it comes to chess at the state and national levels. A seasoned administrator, he has held important positions both at the Karnataka State Chess Association and the All India Chess Federation. He is also a renowned coach and mentor to many young players and was the head coach of the Indian team at the 2018 Asian Youth Championship held in Thailand. He has the rare distinction of participating in the National ‘A’ Championship after a gap of 16 years in 2003.

Manisha Mohithe
Chess Champion, Sports Journalist
A former Karnataka woman champion, she has represented India in a few International events with a second-place finish at Singapore International being her best. Today, she is a veteran journalist having written in many leading publications like The Times of India, Deccan Herald and MidDay. Her Sunday column ‘ChessChecks’ was published uninterrupted for about 24 years (from 1997 to 2020) before the Covid pandemic forced it off the pages. She has covered all the World Chess Championships and Grand Slam events Viswanathan Anand featured in from 1998 to 2015. Lately, she was the press officer during the Chess Olympiad, featuring 190 countries, held in Chennai in 2022. In April 2025, she was the Press Officer for the Indian media at the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix held in Pune.

Vijay Mruthyunjaya
Veteran Sports Journalist, Writer