Yerwada Central Prison Gold Medalist Team Plays Chess with FIDE Officials at ‘Chess for Freedom’ Conference

A gold medalist team from Yerwada Central Prison showcased their chess skills in a unique event called ‘Chess for Freedom’ conference, where they played against players and officials from FIDE. The three-day event, in collaboration with FIDE and IndianOil, kicked off on June 19 inside the prison premises.

The Yerwada Central Prison team had previously clinched the gold medal at the Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners in October 2023, defeating a team from El Salvador. This achievement paved the way for the team to interact and play with officials and players from FIDE and IndianOil during the conference.

The main objective of the conference is to provide chess training to inmates from various prisons globally and organize competitions for them. This initiative aims to build confidence among inmates and showcase their valuable skills that can help them reintegrate into society post their release from prison.

Amitabh Gupta, additional director general of prisons, announced plans to form similar chess teams in every prison in Maharashtra, encouraging both male and female inmates to participate. Special remission was granted to the members of the gold medalist team as a token of appreciation and encouragement.

Chess was introduced as an experimental program at the Yerwada Central Prison last year, which eventually led to the organization of this international conference. Currently, around 200 male and female inmates are learning chess as part of IndianOil’s Parivartan program, in a prison that houses over 6,500 inmates.

Mikhail Korenman, social commission councilor of FIDE, commended the efforts put forth by the prison authorities and inmates. The event highlighted the positive impact of chess in rehabilitation and skill development among prisoners.