Chess is a sport that engrosses and engages the mind like no other.
It's a sport that has been played since ages across civilizations and kingdoms and continues to flourish even today.
The All India FIDE-Rated Chess Tournament being organised at the Russian House has been seeing the participation of chess players of all ages and its fascinating to see how a sport can be the binding glue for people from all walks of life, genders and age brackets.
Guruprasad Patil is a case in point of how the passion for the game can help you stay on the ball despite advancing age.
A 61-year-old man, retired from HPCL, Patil has been working his brains for over four decades when it comes to making moves on the chess board and still has the fire burning inside of him.
"I have been playing since 1969. And playing competitive chess since 1981. I was born and brought up in a chawl. In a chawl, all the neighbouring kids would play together. So, there I learnt to play and one of my cousins was a good chess player. I started playing competitive chess from Narsee Monjee College of Commerce,'' Patil reminisced about his journey.
Elaborating more on how he honed and upgraded his skills over the years, Patil spoke about his meetings with well-known chess players.
"I work in HP. There is a department called PSPB. So our team used to go to participate in various tournaments. So as a result we could get the opportunity to play against some top players like Vidit Gujrathi, Koneru Humpy etc. Except Viswanathan Anand, I have met most of the known players like Dronavalli Harika."
Patil felt chess had a profound impact on the development and growth of brain cells.
"One of the great benefits of chess is it increases your analytical ability and brain cell increases. You will enjoy. Losing and winning is secondary. After retirement, this is my sixth tournament."
Patil had played chess from 1981 to 1984 for his college and thereafter from 1992-2023 for HPCL where he worked during that period.
Talking about his memorable moments, Patil recollected that there was a tournament which gave away prize for unrated players and he was part of a team which was full of unrated players and that was something he cherished.
He also remembers sharing honours with Nisha Mohota, who was an International Master (IM) and Woman Grand Master.
"It was a rapid, so maybe she didn't play properly,'' he chuckled in a self-deprecating manner.