An unprecedented grant of £500k for chess by the UK government
Author: Maria Fragaki
The Sunday Times announced a £500k grant by the UK government for the English Chess Federation, an unprecedented financial support in an attempt to raise the number of English grandmasters.
The forthcoming announcement of an unprecedented grant of £500,000 by the UK government to the English Chess Federation is anticipated to be unveiled by Rishi Sunak, an initiative aimed at elevating the number of English grandmasters. This financial allocation will also facilitate the participation of teams in international tournaments and will facilitate supplementary coaching endeavours, thereby nurturing a new generation of proficient chess players poised to engage in intellectual battles with the world’s premier chess masters.
This represents the first instance of the UK government’s direct financial backing for a national chess team.
The forthcoming proposal, slated for this month’s announcement, also encompasses a comprehensive strategy to expand the provision of chess instruction within educational institutions and the installation of 100 chess tables in public parks.
The overarching objective of this grant is to rejuvenate England’s standing on the global chess stage. While the nation once held a robust competitive position in the 1980s, ranking second only to the Soviet Union, England has subsequently slipped in the world rankings, currently positioned 13th for men and 27th for women, according to the International Chess Federation.
Beyond its global standing, this grant will offer support to budding talents like Bodhana Sivanandan, an impressive young chess prodigy hailing from Harrow school, already acclaimed as the under-eight girl world champion, and Kushal Jakhria from Blackheath, south London, who, at the tender age of seven last year, attained the distinction of being the youngest English player to achieve a national rating of 2000.
Malcolm Pein, Director of International Chess at the English Chess Federation, lauds the £500,000 grant as “potentially transformational.” He expresses the prospect of nurturing additional grandmasters through this financial endorsement, particularly as chess experiences a remarkable resurgence, partly attributed to the lockdown period and the resounding success of the Netflix series, “The Queen’s Gambit.”
Pein emphasizes the unique opportunity that currently exists, with an unprecedented nine children ranked within the top 10 of their respective age groups globally. He highlights the surge in chess engagement during and post-lockdown, with a fivefold increase in chess participants compared to pre-pandemic levels, including 4.6 million UK users on Chess.com and a record ECF membership of 18,000.
Finally, Pein underscores the grant’s dual focus on both elite and community chess development. The aspiration is to rekindle the glory of the 1980s, a period when England was a chess powerhouse. He articulates the grant’s intended utilization, which involves equipping competitive teams with comprehensive preparation, training camps, and cutting-edge computer analysis, ensuring parity with other nations that have surged ahead in recent times. This strategic initiative aims to fortify England’s competitive stance and propel its chess aspirants toward international success.
