Harika’s Simul exhibition brings about smiles

In a game which elicited a lot of “wows!” and “ohhs” and brought cheer to the participants, Chess Grandmaster and Arjuna Awardee Harika Dornavalli squared up against 20 people for a simultaneous chess session on Sunday. The age group of the participants ranged from 5 to 83 and many were residents of ‘Smiles’, an Old Age Home in Medchal.

Students of coach Mahadev from the Viju Chess Academy also had the privilege to participate in the simul (as the game is popularly known) and were excited to be playing with one of the only two women in India to have won the title of Men's Grandmaster after Koneru Hampi.

The residents of Smiles exercised their minds and enjoyed with Harika, who took the blessings of the senior citizens to reach her goal: to become to Women's World Champion. After the simul, the residents shared their experiences with the audience and participated in a question and answer session with Harika.

"I've come to Smiles for the first time and I am very happy to see the interest they have in chess even at this age," said the Grandmaster. Prasad, the managing trustee of Smiles, was glad that the programme was successful.

"At least for two hours, they forgot about everything else in their lives and concentrated on chess alone. It is healthy for them to engage in activities like these and keep their minds active," said Prasad. “It was a pleasure playing with Grandmaster Harika," said A Y Krishna, a resident of Smiles.