CM loses to U-18 National Chess Champion Mehak

In an inspiring moment, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah played a chess match against Pakistan’s Under-18 National Chess Champion, Mehak Maqbool, who recently secured the title at the National Youth Chess Championship organized by the Chess Federation of Pakistan.

Officials said that after a few moves, Mehak checkmated the chief minister and won the match although the CM played quite aggressively as well.

The CM announced Rs100,000 for each of the winners, who included: Mehak Maqbool — 1st place in the U-18 category (SMB Fatima Jinnah Government School, adopted by Zindagi Trust), Yamna Siddiqui — 2nd place in the U-14 category (Govt SMB Fatima Jinnah School), and Alina Siddiqui — 3rd place in the U-12 category (from the same school). Riya Manji participates in the Karachi Under-10 category, and Muhammad Essa Hussain competes in the under-8 and under-9 categories at Sivita School. Champions from Sindh and Karachi.

Mehak is a student at SMB Fatima Jinnah government School, which is a Sindh government school adopted by Zindagi Trust. This event represents a significant milestone in recognising the immense talent emerging from Sindh government schools and in challenging stereotypes about intellectual sports in Pakistan.

The event, held at the CM House on Saturday, was attended by Minister for Education Syed Sardar Shah, Minister for Sports Mohammad Bux Mahar, Secretary School Education Zahid Abbasi, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, Secretary Sports Aleem Lashari, Sultan Alana of Aga Khan Foundation, Shahzad Roy of Zindagi Trust and other rising chess champions - Yamna Siddiqui – 2nd place in the U-14 category (Sindh Govt. SMB Fatima Jinnah School) and Alina Siddiqui – 3rd place in the U-12 category (Sindh Govt. SMB Fatima Jinnah School).

These students have made their mark in the national chess arena, proving that when government school students are given equal opportunities, they can compete with—and even outperform—students from the country’s top private institutions.

Speaking at the event, the chief minister shared his pride in the young champions, emphasising that their achievements are a testament to the transformative power of quality education and exposure to strategic disciplines like chess. “Even if I lost today, I couldn’t be prouder. Witnessing students from our own government schools excel at the national level is a victory for all of us,” he remarked.

During the event, the president of Zindagi Trust introduced a comprehensive chess curriculum designed for students in Grades 3 to 8. This curriculum, available for adoption by all schools across Sindh and Pakistan, aims to establish chess as an academic discipline. It seeks to promote critical thinking, strategic planning, and intellectual developments among students nationwide.