IMC India donates Rs. 1,00,000 to HelpChess Foundation to empower Indian chess players

A beacon of hope…

Because of you, someone’s burden is lighter. This simple line sums up the impact of every contribution to the HelpChess Foundation. It’s a beacon of hope for many chess players. There are many chess players in India who are extraordinarily talented, but financial constraints often affect their dreams. Chess may not require much equipment, but it’s still an expensive sport. Forget becoming a World Champion, even competing at the National level requires a lot of expenses. Traveling costs, coaching fees, and tournament expenses, all of these are not affordable for everyone. Many promising players are forced to give up their passion for this very reason. That’s why the HelpChess Foundation exists. It’s the bridge that fills this gap. While HelpChess is just a medium, all our contributors are truly the ones who make the difference.

The challenge of supporting as many players as we can is huge. Little by little, with the support of our individual contributors, we have been able to support many chess players. Yet, to build a sustainable ecosystem that can nurture our talents, the involvement of big companies is crucial. When such companies join, the impact just gets bigger. It validates the need to support such talents on a larger scale.

In such an effort, IMC India recently donated Rs. 1,00,000 to the HelpChess Foundation. But what drove this generous donation? I spoke with Debajyoti, a Quantitative Researcher at IMC India, who is the man behind this donation. Debajyoti’s passion for chess played an important role in this initiative. His journey with the game is kind of a familiar one for many chess lovers. He used to play chess in his childhood, but it was after The Queen’s Gambit series that his passion for the game truly deepened.

It’s fascinating how often we hear that watching this series rekindled a love for chess in so many people. Many got inspired to start playing online, especially during the lockdown. Debajyoti was one of them. Then he started following some of the tournaments closely.

I was very happy to see the growth of the youngsters in the Indian chess landscape. They were very young, around 14-15, when I started watching, and they are pretty much champions now, at the age of 17-18. It was very interesting to see their growth. - Debajyoti shared.

Debajyoti’s chess interest kept growing further. When he was working in IMC’s Chicago office, he organised an in-house tournament. Such an interesting way to engage your colleagues! His initiative proved to be successful, as nearly 30-40 people participated in it. The tournament was organised in two sections: Masters and Challengers, so that players of all skill levels could enjoy the game.

“Make Your Mark” Initiative

IMC India’s donation came through their "Make Your Mark" CSR program. It’s an initiative where employees nominate causes they care about. Debajyoti resonated with the overall mission of HelpChess Foundation. He had seen our videos where we talked about how these funds helped players participate in tournaments or receive training. That’s why he thought this would be a good nomination.

I myself have contributed to HelpChess and ChessBase India in their journey. So I wanted to have my company also contribute to the growth and work you guys are doing. I want India to be at the forefront of World Chess. Compared to the population that we have, I want a lot more of that to happen. - Debajyoti shared.

To understand IMC's philanthropic philosophy further, I also spoke with Jet, the CSR Coordinator at IMC India. She explained that the "Make Your Mark" program is a global initiative across all IMC offices. All the employees nominate an NGO that they feel passionate about, and the nominated organizations are then vetted for legitimacy and alignment with IMC's strategy.

I think it's a really meaningful initiative because it gives employees the opportunity to nominate NGOs they care about. It also allows us to discover new NGOs and new relationships that we can explore. - Jet shared.

IMC India is taking steps to promote chess globally. Their partnership with Team Liquid, one of the world’s leading esports organizations, is a great example of that. As part of this, they support Team Liquid’s chess division, which includes top grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. Their goal is to spark curiosity and passion for chess among young people worldwide.

IMC India primarily supports initiatives related to the education of children. They have been a part of many initiatives like establishing libraries in government schools, reintegrating female dropouts into the education system, environmental causes like cleaning up the rivers and oceans, and many more. The company clearly maintains a positive approach towards creating bigger social impact.

For us, it’s satisfying to see more companies recognizing the potential of chess and stepping forward to support players. All these efforts are collectively contributing to the country’s growth in the game. Whenever I see an Indian chess player shining on the global stage, I dream about India being at the forefront of world chess. In fact, many of us dream about this. That’s why, when such support is initiated, it feels like the dream is coming into reality. We are truly grateful to IMC India for this significant contribution. It will undoubtedly open up new possibilities for our players!

Support the Initiative

As Indian chess grows rapidly, the number of players who are taking up the sport is rising tremendously. We, at ChessBase India, travel across the country and the globe to find the best talents and also ensure that they are in need of funds. Your support can help to sustain and power the career of one such talent. If you would like to support Indian chess players, please contribute via the HelpChess website.

If you would like to institute a scholarship or sponsor an amount, please do write to us at chessbaseindia@gmail.com to discuss the details of the same.

HelpChess is an 80G registered Charitable Trust.

Here are some details so that you can be sure that you are putting in your money in the right place.

PAN number: AACTH4426K

12A Registration - AACTH4426KE20215 dated 23/09/2021

80G No - AACTH4426KF20213

CSR No. CSR00016763