Inter-school chess championship begins with record participation

TSHERING YANGCHEN BHUTIA

GANGTOK,: The three-day Inter-School Chess Championship 2026 got underway at Sir Tashi Namgyal Senior Secondary School here on Friday, drawing a record participation of nearly 600 students from around 50 schools across Sikkim. Despite heavy rain disrupting travel and preventing around 100 registered players from attending, the tournament opened with a strong turnout, organisers Sikkim Chess Association (SCA) said.

The championship is being played under the FIDE Swiss League format, with nine rounds scheduled over three days. Three rounds are being held on the opening day, four on Saturday and the remaining two on the final day.

Players are competing in several age-group categories for boys and girls, as well as an open category. Cash prizes totalling Rs. 70,000 will be awarded, with prize money also available in the Under-7 and Under-9 divisions.

SCA general secretary Mahendra Dhakal said the annual championship has been held since 2008 and has grown steadily in size.

He said the popularity of chess in Sikkim had increased in recent years, with more government schools requesting trained coaches. The association currently has 12 professional coaches and plans to introduce a six-month coaching programme to train more instructors, said Dhakal.

Schools from Mangan, Namchi, Pakyong and Gangtok districts are taking part in this year's event.

Speaking about the State’s performance at nationals, Dhakal said Sikkim had made consistent progress in chess within India's North-East region but still faced challenges at the national level.

He added that although Sikkim had once been the dominant force in North-East chess, Assam had emerged as a strong competitor in recent years.

The championship will end on July 26 with a closing ceremony, where winners across all categories will receive trophies and cash prizes.