The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Annual National Youth Chess Championship (under 18) was held on 21st February as a tribute to His Majesty The King and to celebrate His Majesty’s Birthday. Organized by Bhutan Chess Federation and coordinated by four officials, the tournament took place at Bhutan Olympic Committee Hall. The competition saw young talents, ranging in ages 8 to 18 years old from various schools.
6 young talents stood out from nearly 40 participants in which Candidate Master Lhundrup Namgyal Dorji bagged the first prize with a perfect 7/7 results, Sidhant Bhandari was the 1st runners up, Ngawang Kheychok was the 2nd runners up, Pema Yangsel won the Best Female, Thinley Wangyel won the Best under-16 and Tenzin Zepa as the Best under-14.
According to the Bhutan Chess Federation (BCF), the National Youth Chess Championship was to scout young talents who can potentially represent Bhutan in international chess competitions after proper training and guidance.
“We have been organizing such competitions and intend to continue conducting them henceforth, so that young talents are identified and groomed with experience, eventually representing in the Chess Olympiad,” said BCF.
They also shared that despite having talented players, the players lack exposures and training, so BCF has plans to give proper guidance and training, and send players, especially the youth players, for international competitions to Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Serbia so they can gain exposure.
15-year-old Candidate Master Lhundrup Namgyal Dorji won the tournament, and he shared his excitement and expectations from the competition.
He said, “I felt very excited to play the tournament and was also proud of myself that I managed to win the tournament. I expected a lot of intense matches and it really was, which left me so thrilled to play them.”
Lhundrup has participated in various competitions before including both international and national events. The most recent competition which he took part in was the 45th Chess Olympiad where he earned Candidate Master title.
Ngawang Kheychok aged 15, who bagged the 2nd runners up explained that he was surprised by the outcome as he didn’t play chess for 4 months.
He said, “I was surprised from the outcome as I didn’t play chess for 4 months at that point, and I also expected to do badly in the competition. However, I was happy that I got the 2nd runners up. I was planning to partake in the tournament because I always participate in every chess competition.”
He also shared that despite the challenges he faces due to his disability, it did not hinder him while playing chess, as it requires the brain activity and not physical input.
Furthermore, BCF is soon going to host an open tournament which is going to be for all the age group. They are also planning to collaborate with schools to establish chess club and organizing school national chess competition to groom young talents.
The top 10 players from the National Youth Chess Championship will soon undergo training in which mostly the top 3 will be prioritized to represent the country in the upcoming international competitions. The country has 2 master level players for the first time from the Olympiad.
