Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to your favorite series on the internet, The Pakistani Chess scene. People and corporations keep talking about The Pakistani Food Scene (looking at you 7up), but the chess scene also deserves its fair bit of recognition. In this blog, we will be looking at the two main epicenters of Chess, the two main hubs, both located on polar opposite ends of the country of Pakistan. The lively and bustling metropolis of Karachi, and the quaint and organized Capital of Pakistan. The dusty winds “of the Sindh, and the Pleasant monsoon of the plateau. In both of these cities, the respective organizations, and federations have been doing lots to help improve the Pakistani chess and make it reach a new level. Let us take a look at both of these cities.

Islamabad

Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, located at the confluence of the Himalayas and the Potohar plateau. Chess has been introduced and been brought in with full force in the capital, with the government requiring federal institutions to teach chess in their syllabus. The capital has held over 100+ tournaments in the last three years thanks to the ICA, the Islamabad Chess Association.

What is the Islamabad Chess Association, exactly?

Created in 2021, The Islamabad Chess Association, which is currently headed by their acting president, Mr Shujaat Ali, The Islamabad Chess association has strived to organized weekly tournaments in the capital city of Islamabad. At an almost weekly basis, rapid and classical tournaments are organized which include Open, and Junior categories for participants. This has really improved the leverage and scope in the Islamabad Chess Scene, which has helped more and more players to get into chess. At the start of roughly 2020, there was only one rated player in Islamabad (who was also a national master), but now, thanks to the efforts of the association, there are more than 300+ players who are rated now, me included. This has also helped Islamabad get more and more recognition in the national chess state, especially at the National chess Championships. The way chess is improving in the capital, it seems that very soon Islamabad will boast quite a few titled players. Another important thing the ICA has achieved is facilitating training classes and bootcamps, in associating with various schools in the city and organizing tournaments in schools. This has promoted student masses to get good at the game and promote chess. 

You can visit their website at https://icaofficial.com/ if you’re interested in their work.

Karachi

Karachi is the biggest city in Pakistan, a megacity with a population over 25 million. It is safe to say that there is a sure reason why Karachi was the biggest chess center before Islamabad gave it a run for its money. In the formative years players such as GM Niaz Murshed (before the parition), FM Muhammad Omair, and many other titled players emerged to battle the Lahore chess scene. However then Karachi experienced a death in its chess interest and gradually but steadily, the chess declined. However, beginning in the 2015s, Karachi has improved solely because of just one driving force. Unlike Islamabad, which is headed by a chess association that collaborates with schools, there is only one ruling club in the city: The Karpov Chess Club

What is the Karpov Chess Club?

Headed by National Master Shahzaib Khan (stylized as Shahxiaib Khan) founded the Karpov Chess Club, that is the biggest chess club in Karachi and organizes the most FIDE rated tournaments in the city. Shahzaib himself has achieved, according to his bio:

“1) Silver Medal Board 4 Sheikh Russel IGM Tournament 2022 Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2) 1st Position Rapid Chess Masters Arena – Karachi 2022.
3) 5th Position National Chess Championship – Gilgit 2022. Team Member 2022 Olympiad.
4) 4th Position Punjab Mind Masters Open – Lahore 2022. 
5) 2nd Position Pakistan Open Chess Tournament – Karachi 2020.
6) 2nd Position 1st District Nazim KPK Championship – Peshawar 2019.
7) 6th Position National Chess Championship – Lahore 2018. – Achieving NM title.
8) 2nd Position Punjab Open Chess Championship – Multan 2018.
9) Won few zonal championships dozen of Club tournaments and Sunday Leagues.”

It is safe to say that a chess player of such caliber could see the need for younger audiences to play chess. In doing exactly that, he founded the Karpov Chess Club, a chess club for all ages with the passion of organizing OTB tournaments and casual otb matches. So far, the chess club has organized almost 100 tournaments and is doing a great job for Chess Development in Karachi. The best thing about this club though, is their social media awareness. They make sure to upload highlights of their every tournament to promote chess in Karachi overall. This is doing wonders for the chess scene anyway, as many top players have emerged from Karachi and the Sindh division in recent years. We wish them best of luck with their future endeavors.

That is all for today, and tune in next time for our next edition.