SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, June 10: Three FIDE arbiters of Jharkhand namely Dipak Kumar (Ranchi), Vishal Kumar Minj (Jamshedpur) and Aishwarya (Dhanbad) have been selected for officiating the 44th Chess Olympiad to be held at Mahabalipuram (Chennai) from July 28 to August 10.
The list of arbiters for Chennai Chess Olympiad chess was released by World Arbiters’ Commission on Thursday evening. This is the first time that arbiters of Jharkhand have been selected for this mega world chess event.
Selection of the trio of FIDE arbiters of Jharkhand was anticipated as they had been picked up along with 87 arbiters (total 90) of the country for special training organized at Mahabalipuram from May 28 to 31 to officiate the Chess Olympiad.
Dipak Kumar, the senior-most arbiter in the state after Jayant Bhuyan of Jamshedpur, got the FA norm in 2017. He has the credit of officiating several national and international tournaments including two Grand Masters (GM) tournaments in Bhopal (2020) and Delhi (2019). Whenever national and international tournaments are organized in the region, Dipak Kumar is called to officiate as the chief arbiter.
Vishal Kumar Minj of Jamshedpur got the FIDE arbiter norm in 2019 and has conducted several national tournaments. In 2019, he officiated the RVS rating championship at Jamshedpur, All India Rating Championship, Ranchi in 2019, All India Open Championship Chaibasa in 2019, and All India Open Championship Dumka in 2020. Even during the Covid pandemic, he officiated several online national tournaments.
The youngest FIDE arbiter of Jharkhand Aishwarya got the norm three years ago in 2019. She has the credit of officiating two Grand Master tournaments in Delhi and Pune, the Asian Youth Chess Championship and other offline and online championships.
At present, Aishwarya has a 1680 Peak Rating. Before shifting to Delhi for studies, Aishwarya won state championships for 10 years in different age groups. She began playing chess at the age of 8 years in 2004 in Dhanbad. She also led the Delhi state team and Delhi University team in the All India University Chess Championship.
Chess association officials and lovers have termed it as a milestone achievement of 22 years old state. AJCA General Secretary International Master Neeraj Mishra, Joint Secretary Ajay Kumar (Saraikela), International Arbiter Jayant Kumar Bhuyan (Jamshedpur), FIDE arbiter Prabhat Kumar Ranjan ( Dhanbad), former state body treasurer Arvind Kumar Sinha, Dhanbad Chess Association Joint Secretary Mukesh Sinha have congratulated Dipak Kumar, Vishal Kumar Minj and Aishwarya on their selection for officiating the Chess Olympiad.
