Sanchita Chatterjee,BS News Agency, Kolkata: It would not be an exaggeration to say that Kolkata is now very much a city of chess. The city is currently buzzing with back-to-back chess events. Just recently, the city hosted an international chess tournament. And before the excitement of that event could subside, the 'Shatranj Ke Heroes 2026' event was held on Tuesday at the city's historic Bengal Chamber of Commerce. This initiative by the All Bengal Chess Association entered its third year under the leadership of its president, Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua. For the past few years, this event has honored chess players and those associated with chess who have repeatedly brought pride to Bengal. And this year's event was also graced by Dibyendu Barua himself.
Although it was a chess event, the stage was illuminated not only by chess players but also by footballers and political figures, including sports administrators, among whom Subrata Dutta was prominent. Former footballers Dipendu Biswas and Mehtab Hossain were also present. Grandmasters from Bengal, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Saptarshi Roy, Diptayan Ghosh, and Mitrabha Guha, were also in attendance. The youngest GM, Sarvarth Mani, was also present. All these Grandmasters were felicitated from this platform.
Pic by Bibhash Lodh/BS News Agency.
Dibyendu Barua stated that the sole objective behind this initiative is to encourage those who are achieving success, so that they can bring even more success for Bengal and for the country. However, the biggest award of the day was the Lifetime Achievement Award. And it went to Udayankanti Ghosh, a renowned arbiter who has been associated with Bengal chess for a long time. This recognition is well-deserved for his long-standing contributions to Bengal chess.
Pic by Bibhash Lodh/BS News Agency.
All the athletes together presented him with the award. From that very stage, Udayan Ghosh also raised some questions. He questioned why Bengal chess cannot progress beyond a certain point and entrusted the responsibility of finding the answer to this question to Dibyendu Barua, the face of Bengal chess, as the baton of Bengal chess is now in his hands.