With BOSM just around the corner, the BOSM English Press approached Shubh Kotalwar, the Captain of the Chess team, for a small talk about the team’s preparations and aims for this edition of the fest.

In BOSM, chess is divided into two formats based on time controls: Classical—90 minutes with 30 seconds increment per move for each player—and Blitz, which is three minutes with two seconds increment per move. The players themselves are assorted into three teams—A, B and C, with the top five players forming team A, the next five forming team B and the rest forming team C. 

Talking about the team’s performance in the past, Shubh said that they have been ‘absolutely dominant’ in every event that they have played, winning at least one gold medal in earlier editions of BOSM. He stated that he couldn’t think of an answer when asked about major rivals as ‘none had come close to defeating them’. He mentioned that they had bagged a bronze medal at the previous edition of InterBITS, missing gold because the stronger team players weren’t able to participate in the event. 

Talking about this year’s recruitments, Shubh mentioned that they saw an increase in the number of applicants from about 100 last year to 200. The process lasted seven days and ended with eight members being selected. He remarked that the recruits weren’t chosen directly based on their score against other players. Rather, the quality of their games was analysed and players with good board vision and scope for improvement were chosen. 

Regarding training, Shubh mentioned that they were conducting daily practice sessions with the focus being on solving puzzles and practising middle-games and openings. After discussions with CoSSAc, they managed to have the chess room shifted from the Student’s Activity Centre (SAC) to one of the Faculty Department (FD) buildings, allowing for more space and efficiency. 

When asked about his own experiences with chess, Shubh stated that he was a state-level player for Maharashtra with a FIDE rating of 1588. According to him, balancing chess with academics was not challenging as chess helps him relax whenever he is not involved with academics.

Lastly, Shubh confirmed that the team is in ‘top-notch form’ and is ready to once again ‘dominate’ BOSM.