Zindagi Trust joins hands with MSAP, TCF to promote chess

KARACHI: The Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) has joined hands with Shahzad Roy’s Zindagi Trust for the promotion of chess, with The Citizen Foundation (TCF).

“It’s quite unusual for three social sector organisations to come on one platform but we, three NGOs, have decided to work together for the introduction of chess at educational institution level,” Shahzad Roy, a renowned singer, social worker and humanitarian, declared on the occasion.

“Zindagi Trust, since its establishment in 2002, has been striving to improve the quality of education available to the under-privileged segment in particular. We have been trying to transform the education system through uniform curriculum and sports activities. Now, with the collaboration of MSAP, we are endeavouring to have chess included in the curriculum of various boards,” he announced.

“Our collaborative chess initiatives will go a long way in transforming the lives of talented individuals. Chess is a sport which teaches wisdom and intelligence. Going by our past experiences, personally I don’t foresee hurdles or problems in having chess in the curriculum,” Shahzad said.

To a question, he said that the purpose of the whole exercise would be killed if the students of the government schools were not its main beneficiaries. “It won’t be an elite activity or anything like that. We will welcome all schools to include chess in their curriculum but our focus will be on the government schools,” he added.

MSAP founding chairman and director Khurshid Hadi said: “Powered by four-year sponsorship deal (2019-2022) with the Engro Foundation, we have now launched a major project of introducing chess at educational institutions. It will go a long way in achieving our mutual objectives.

“The objectives of the MSAP have included the development of chess, bridge and scrabble by facilitating academic institutions to establish mind sport learning clubs,” he said. Emphasising the significance of chess at school level, Khurshid shared the benefits of playing mind sports, which reflected on behaviour, structuring of minds, reasoning, mental arithmetic, increase in memory, and concentration.

He further remarked that mind sports played an important part in betterment of health and secured people from mental deterioration. Replying to a question, he talked about the plans of the MSAP to revive the National Mind Sports Games whose inaugural edition was staged with great fanfare in 2008. “We will be able to do it either by the year end or early next year. We are keen to revive this event,” the MSAP chairman said.