Chess fans help soldiers get on board
150 chess sets are bound for Kandahar Air Base, where the popular game crosses cultural barriers
Emily Senger, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 3:02 am
When Maj. Regis Bellemare packed his chess set before shipping off to Afghanistan, he had no idea that the 32 plastic pieces and the checkered board would help him connect with Afghan soldiers.
The first time Bellemare met one of the majors from the Afghan National Army, whom he was to train and mentor for seven months, the major was playing chess.
Bellemare, who has played since high school, was quick to join in, and a single match soon spawned many more games, which transcended language and cultural barriers between Afghans and Canadians.
“I discovered that the Afghans loved to play chess,” Bellemare said from ChessMart, where he was picking up $1,800 worth of chess supplies donated to the Canadian Forces by the store and the Alberta Chess Association.
Bellemare, who is based in Edmonton, said he spent many hours playing chess with Afghan soldiers in the part of world where a form of the current game originated about 2,000 years ago.
Chess was outlawed under Taliban rule, from 1996 to 2001. An Afghan caught playing chess could face jail time, or even death, Bellemare said.
Sometimes, engaging the soldiers through a game they were finally permitted to play worked a little too well.
“They always wanted to play chess and not work,” Bellemare said, laughing.
His chess strategy was so successful with the Afghan National Army that Bellemare decided to form a chess club at Kandahar Air Field.
The club began with a few players and soon expanded to about 90 members.
One evening each week, the Kandahar Air Field Chess Club would take over the movie theatre on base, line up their rooks and pawns, and play for hours.
Here is the full article.
Excellent story.