Not unlike a chess player, Aashay Mehta, the Captain of the BITS Pilani Chess team, seemed to take his time contemplating every question posed to him. ‘Between our eighteen players, there is a sizeable ratings gap,” said Aashay when speaking of the numerical ‘ELO’ rating system on which competitive Chess players are rated. “Some of us are unrated, while one of us—a first year—is rated 2056”, he continues.

Ahead of BOSM, the team has been practicing for about three hours everyday. The players are not trying to adhere to a structured training schedule, instead opting to freely train for as much time as they possibly can every day. Their training involves equal amounts of practice in all three categories in the tournament: Blitz (Chess with a time restriction on each move), Normal, and Puzzle Solving (crafting solutions for specific Chess situations). When asked about the use of chess engines, Aashay was dismissive of their use during practice, claiming that they kill creativity.

The tournament itself happens in teams of five, with fifteen participants (five in each category) competing from each college. The tournament features colleges such as SRCC, Zakir Hussain College, and Thakur College of Science and Commerce (Bombay). Typically, SRCC is the strongest competitor, having won gold in both the Normal and Blitz categories last year followed by a bronze in Puzzle Solving. BITS comes a close second, having earned a silver in the Normal and Blitz categories along with a gold in Puzzle Solving. In terms of sheer numbers, though, Aashay says competition is larger this year.

Here’s wishing the Chess Team a successful BOSM!