Legendary chess participant Mir Sultan Khan, extensively referred to as one of the best Asian chess participant of his technology, has been bestowed with the title of Honorary Grandmaster by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. Mir Sultan thus turns into Pakistan’s first grandmaster (as per FIDE, though he performed in pre-partition period India).
Born in 1903, Sultan Khan was a chess participant from Sargodha in what’s now northeast Pakistan. He famously received the British Chess Championship in 1929, 1931, and 1932. He additionally thrice performed for England on the Chess Olympiad.
He famously defeated former world champion José Raúl Capablanca moreover famend gamers like Frank Marshall and Savielly Tartakower. Sultan Khan additionally held former world champions Alexander Alekhine and Max Euwe to attracts.
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What was exceptional about Sultan Khan was that he learnt the sport from his father, who taught him the standard Indian guidelines which had been barely completely different than the foundations of the fashionable sport. And that he barely spoke any English, which made it much more tough for him to understand information in regards to the sport from books.
He handed away in 1966 attributable to tuberculosis.
He was a manservant to Main Basic Nawab Sir Umar Hayat Khan, one of many largest landholders in Punjab on the time, who observed Sultan Khan’s expertise on the board and nurtured it.
A profile of Sultan Khan in Pakistan’s Daybreak newspaper states: “His duties (at Sir Umar Khan’s haveli) included working errands and doing odd jobs on the Main Basic’s haveli.”
“A Punjabi chess participant and a citizen of Pakistan, he’s thought of the strongest chess grasp of his time from Asia. In a global chess profession of lower than 5 years, he received the British Chess Championship thrice.
Mir Sultan Khan, who beat among the world’s prime gamers regardless of rising up with little entry to chess books and realizing subsequent to nothing in regards to the concept of chess, grew to become the primary Pakistani grandmaster,” FIDE stated in a press launch.
At the moment, Pakistan’s prime participant, Mohamed Zohaib Hassan, has a ranking of 2269.
FIDE President Dvorkovich is at the moment in Pakistan as a part of the worldwide governing physique’s efforts to popularise the game of chess in Pakistan. The Russian had met with the Pakistan President Dr Arig Alvi and Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Friday in Islamabad for the launch of Pakistan’s Nationwide Thoughts Sports activities Initiative.
Many chess lovers on social media raised a problem with Sultan Khan being recognized as a Pakistani chess participant. There was additionally one other controversy, with Scottish GM Jacob Aagaard slamming FIDE for making the announcement for “political favours”.
“How ought to we react to this? Mr Khan has an enormous title in chess and nobody would disagree with this choice on benefit. However this choice shouldn’t be one among benefit, however a matter of political favours. I don’t know if FIDE is genuinely wanting to advertise chess in Pakistan (a worthy aim) or to be mushy Russian diplomats. I worry the latter is inescapable for Dvorkovich. Whereas I don’t consider that is what he began out to be, it’s clearly a part of what FIDE is now below his management.
“FIDE begun giving out the GM title in 1950. For that reason Capablanca, Alekhine, Lasker and the opposite greats of Mr Khan’s period by no means acquired the title. As a result of they had been useless. Useless folks didn’t get the title… The GM title takes a long time for a few of us to attain and is the height of our profession. It’s insulting that they’re used for political favours. However personally I’m proud to be a colleague to Mr Khan,” he tweeted.