Award named after N.R. Madhava Menon, father of modern legal studies in India
C.K. Sahala Farsana, student of the Nehru Academy of Law, Lakkidi, and first-rank winner of Calicut University in five-year LLB examination, has won this year’s N.R. Madhava Menon Memorial Award for the best law student.
The award has been given by the Victims Information, Sensitisation, Welfare and Assistance Society (VISWAS), an organisation providing succour for the victims of excesses and crimes.
Ms. Farsana was adjudged the best student considering her academic and non-academic performance, especially her leadership in social work. She had won prizes in quiz, debate, and essay competitions held in several parts of the country.
Kalyani Balachandran from Al Ameen Law College, Kulappully, was adjudged the runner-up. M. Shabas from V.R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan Law College, Elavenchery, and Amrit M. Nair from Al Ameen Law College, Kulappully, won consolation prizes.
Former district judge M.R. Balachandran Nair, former diplomat Sreekumar Menon, and Deputy Director of Prosecution K. Sheeba constituted the judging committee.
Principal district judge B. Kalam Pasha gave away the awards instituted in the memory of N.R. Madhava Menon, who was widely considered the father of modern legal studies in India. Menon was a former Vice Chancellor of the National Law Universities and former director of the National Judicial Academy.
VISWAS secretary P. Premnath, vice presidents B. Jayarajan and R. Devikripa, joint secretaries Deepa Jayaprakash and N. Rakhi spoke.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Palakkad – January 10th, 2022
Suhana Safar, a fifth-year student of BA LLB integrated course at SDM Law College Mangaluru, has secured second rank at the Karnataka State Law University (KSLU) examination.
Suhana is a resident of Ullal Kodi and daughter of Haneef and Ruqiya.
She had appeared for the KSLU final year exams 2021 in Kannada medium and has secured second university rank.
Rafiq was felicitated by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation with this trophy after he won the National A Championship in 1978
He was the son of a carpenter and had no formal education. He himself became a carpenter to ensure that his daily needs are satisfied. Something about the game of chess attracted him and began playing it actively. Thank God, that he chose chess, because this impoverished, illiterate carpenter from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, went on to become one of the finest chess players that India has ever seen. This is the story of Mohamed Rafiq Khan, former national champion of India and the first Olympiad chess medalist for our country. Rafiq Khan passed away at the age of 73 years on 19th of July 2019. With this article we would like to go back in the memory lane and explore the legacy left behind by this great personality. We not only bring you Rafiq Khan’s life story and best game analysis but also messages and anecdotes from his friends, colleagues and contemporaries. A heartfelt eulogy.
The Reincarnation of Sultan Khan
Do you know what is the significance of this medal?
The above medal is India’s first medal at a Chess Olympiad. And do you know the man who won it? It was Mohamed Rafiq Khan, playing for the third board of the Indian team at the Malta Olympiad in 1980.
The man who won India’s first medal at a chess Olympiad – Rafiq Khan from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Rafiq Khan’s father was a carpenter by profession and the family living in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh suffered from poverty and lack of resources. Born on 12th July 1946, Rafiq had no real formal education. He never went to a school. In order to make his ends meet, he started working with his father as his assistant. After putting in hours of carpentry work, he would often get tired and go to his favourite tea stall for a cup of tea. That’s where he would see people playing chess with each other. He was intrigued by the game and decided to learn it. In spite of his hectic schedule, he made a promise to himself that he would play an hour of chess each day before going to bed. It was in this way that Rafiq Khan made his modest beginnings in the royal game. Mind you, what Rafique learnt was the desi form of chess, also called Indian chess, where the pawn would move only one square at a time (not two on the first move like in international chess), a pawn could not be promoted to any piece on the last rank and so on!
Rafiq’s career in international chess (non desi form of chess that we use today) started when he first took part in the Madhya Pradesh chess championship held during April 1975. He surprised all by winning the championship ahead of Syed Nawab Ali (who represented India in the Varna Olympiad), Rajesh Bahadur, Radhe Shyam Gupta, all National ‘A’ players. He then went on to qualify for National ‘A’ by securing second place behind Raja Ravisekhar at the 13th National ‘B’ held at Patna during June 1975. He shot into prominence by his stupendous performance in the 14th National ‘B’ held in Calcutta during June 1976. There he scored 11 wins and 9 of them were back to back! Once he sat on the first board, he remained there until the end conceding only four draws and winning the championship with massive 13 points! This record is still intact and no one has dominated an event like National B, like Rafiq Khan did in 1976.
Rafique Khan’s certificate after he created a big flutter in Indian chess by winning the National B Championships with a score of 13.0/15.
Says GM Pravin Thipsay, “Rafiq Khan’s result at the 1976 National B Championships stunned the chess fraternity at that time. We were all amused to know about him through the stories we heard from the Mumbai players who returned dumbfounded after the “B”. I then learn that he had been a “desi” player (rules of desi chess are different from international chess. For eg. the pawn moves only one square forward instead of two) for a few years before and had learned the rules of International chess hardly six months before the “B”. Even during the said “B”, Rafiq was reluctant to move pawns two squares and invariably began the game with strange pieces and pawns configuration resulting from starting moves ……e6, d6, g6, Bg7, Ne7, 0-0 followed by ……b6,Bb7,Nd7 etc. Despite this, he not only defended his position well in every game but even went on to exploit the overextended and weakened position of his adversaries to gain material.”
It’s amazing how in spite of being just a desi chess player, Rafiq Khan managed to dominate the National B championships with a score of 13.0/15
India’s top player at that point in 1976 was Manuel Aaron. Aaron had already won the national title for a record five times until then. What did he think of Rafiq Khan’s 13.0/15 achievement? “In 1976, Rafiq Khan surprisingly won the National “B” Championship in Calcutta and Indian chess looked at him in awe as he finished ahead of almost all the best chess players of India. His rivals were proficient and experienced in modern chess theory which was denied to Rafiq because of his lack of English knowledge, yet he won. I was already aware of his good reputation when I first met him at the 1976 National “A” in Calcutta. But he was a big disappointment to me as he had a few gaps in his understanding of the middle-game, especially the handling of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bishops. Naturally, he didn’t do well in the “A” at Calcutta. But by the time the next National “A” came in Cochin, he was a transformed player, his middle-game had improved dramatically and he took the title on tie-break from V.Ravikumar who became an IM two years later. Clearly, Rafiq was of IM calibre.”
All the big names of Indian chess participated in the National A championships in 1978 and Rafique Khan came out on top with 12.5/19 | Source: Indian Chess History
Rajesh Bahadur, who was Rafiq’s good friend and also a statemate said, “Rafique Khan became National Champion by winning 17th National ‘A’ held at Cochin during Feb’1978. Though he was in outstanding form throughout this tournament, his encounter with Ravisekhar was the most intriguing. The striking feature of this game was that playing with Black pieces, he dragged Ravisekhar’s King from the security of first rank and brought it right up to the last rank to deliver mate, reminiscent of Ed Lasker – Sir George Thomas encounter.”
A carpenter by profession, came on the Indian chess scene, and defeated the best in the business to become the National Champion! A look back at how the national championships were played back in the day!
In spite of winning the national title and being one of the strongest chess players in the country, Rafiq Khan’s pangs with financial instability continued. Chess was not going to make his ends meet. At that time there was hardly any money in the sport. Although he was working in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, the salary wasn’t sufficient for him to focus adequately on his chess career. During this time, an English magazine ‘Onlooker’ did a detailed story on Khan’s achievements and the negligence of government towards him. This story reached the then Industry Minister George Fernandes. Seeing his plight Fernandes wrote a letter to Rafique. Here’s what he said.
George Fernandes’ letter to Rafique Khan making sure that he gets a better livelihood by giving him a job in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
Employment in BHEL gave Rafiq Khan’s chess career a much needed boost. He focused on his game and the next breakthrough in his career came during the Malta Olympiad, 1980. Rafiq’s individual silver medal on board three was a big boost not just for him personally but for the entire Indian chess fraternity. Suddenly everyone began to believe that even Indians could not just compete, but even win against the best in the world. Says Thipsay, “An individual medal at the Olympiad going to a Non-European was something no one could even dream of and yet Rafiq achieved it!” Manuel Aaron, who was Rafiq’s team mate at the event, said, “After a gap of many years, the Indian Government sponsored the Indian Men’s team to the Malta Olympiad in 1980. Till then only the Indian Women’s team which comprised solely, or mainly, of the Khadilkar sisters were sponsored. The Government had denied support to the Men’s team till Malta, 1980, as they claimed it was ‘weak’ or sub-standard. Rafiq scored 10/13 to take the silver medal for the second best performance on board three to rubbish the long-held belief of the Government that Indian men are not strong enough for International chess. It was amazing that a Bhopal carpenter won a medal at the Olympiad! Single-handedly, Rafiq had raised the popularity of chess in Madhya Pradesh.”
Rafiq Khan was given a hero’s welcome in his hometown of Bhopal after he won the silver medal at the Olympiad in Malta 1980 Rafiq’s achievement made everyone believe that “Nothing was impossible!”
Rafiq Khan continued playing chess after 1980 as well. He was the best performer in the Indian team at the Lucerne Olympiad in 1982. He subsequently won the prestigious Piloo Modi tournament thrice in 1984, 1986 and 1992. His other victories include a tournament in Sehore, P.N. Mehta Memorial tournament in 1990 in Nashik, KU Achla Mudgal tournament in 1994 in Agra. Rafiq Khan loved chess and continued playing it until his last breath. According to Kapil Saxena, Secretary of MPSCA, Rafiq was playing chess on 18th July, until midnight, at Bhopal Chess Club. To the big surprise of everybody, he died of a heart attack the next day at 2:30 pm. He is survived by his wife, two sons and four daughters.
Chess was Rafiq Khan’s first and true love until his very last breathe! Rafiq Khan’s bio dataRafiq Khan’s bio data (continued)
Rafique Khan the chess player
After analyzing many of Rafiq Khan’s games over the last few days I have come to the conclusion that Rafiq Khan liked to play positional chess. He liked to fianchetto his king’s bishop with white after opening with 1.d4. It was not like Rafiq tried to stay away from complications. When the position demanded them, he would go for it whole heartedly. His black repertoire was much more aggressive than his white openings. With white he liked to keep a steady opening edge. When it came to endgames he was simply brilliant. Check out his endgame against a young Dibyendu Barua, where Rafiq manages to magically convert a drawish looking rook endgame into a winning one.
The Endgame maestro
When I was going through many of Rafiq Khan’s games, this one caught my attention. Mainly because the endgame looked drawish and yet Rafiq managed to convert it and secondly his opponent was the very talented youngster and the future GM of India Dibyendu Barua.
Rafiq, Khan Mhd. – D., Barua1-0 Annotations : Sagar Shah
This endgame should be drawn. but it is interesting to see how Rafiq Khan manages to put quite a bit of pressure on Barua! 40.♖b5b641.h5! Fixing the kingside pawns. ♔f742.♔f4♔e643.b4♖b344.♖e5+ The rook makes way for the pawn to come to b5. ♔f645.♖f5+♔e646.b5 If you look at the position carefully, you realize that the rook on f5 controls the pawn on b5 and h5 and also f3. So it is ideally located. But the next question is how to make progress? ♖b147.♖e5+♔f648.♖d5♔e649.♖e5+♔f650.♖f5+♔e651.♔g3 Notice how Rafiq Khan repeated the moves to wear down his opponent before making some progress. This is high class technique. ♖b352.♔g4♖b253.♔f4♖b154.♔e3♖b3+55.♔d4♖b4+56.♔d3♖b3+57.♔c4♖b158.f4 White makes some progress. But as long as the white king cannot enter, nothing much can be done. ♖c1+59.♔d3♖d1+60.♔e2♖h161.♖e5+♔f662.♔e3♖b163.♖d5♖e1+64.♔f3♖f1+65.♔g3♖g1+66.♔f2♖b167.♖f5+♔e668.♖e5+♔f669.♔e3♖b470.♖d5♖b3+71.♔d4♖b4+72.♔d3♖b173.♖f5+♔e674.♖e5+♔f675.♔d4♖b4+?75… ♖d1+ The question is wht didn’t Barua give this check to stop Kd5. 76. ♔c4 The point is that the white rook can now move in with Re8 because any black active rook move is met with Kd5. So in effect Barua should not have landed in this position.75… ♔f7!?76.♔d5! That’s why Kf7 was stronger because now Rxb5+ doesnt work due to Kd6. ♖a476… ♖xb5+ 77. ♔d6 ♖xe577… ♖b1 78. ♖f5# is a pretty mate.78. fxe5++−77.♖e6+♔f778.♖c6♖a579.♖c7+♔g880.♔c6 Magically White has got everything that he wanted! ♖a481.e5♖xf482.e6♔f883.♖xa7♖e484.♖f7+♔g885.♔d5♖e186.♖f5
Tremendous Endgame technique by Rafiq Khan. 1-0
The Malta Olympiad, 1980
The defining tournament of Rafiq Khan’s chess career. Rafiq scored 10.0/13 with nine wins, two draws and two losses. We have chosen three of his games here. The first one is against IM Steen Feder of Denmark. This game shows how White can keep control in the fianchetto variation of the King’s Indian and use his extra space to put Black under pressure.
1.d4♘f62.c4g63.g3♗g74.♗g2O-O5.♘f3d66.O-O♘bd77.♘c3e58.♕c2♖e89.♖d1c610.e4exd411.♘xd4♕b612.h3a512… ♘xe4 13. ♘xe4 ♗xd4 14. ♘xd6±13.♗e3♕c714.♖d2! A quiet little move to double the rooks down the d-file. ♘c515.♘b3♘e616.♖ad1♗f817.♘a4♘d718.f4 Rafiq Khan was just too strong in such positional structures. He would press the life out of his opponents. b619.♗f2♖b820.♕c3♖b721.♔h2♕b822.♕f3♖c723.♘c3♘dc524.♘d4♘xd425.♗xd4f5 The position for Black was already bad. Now with … f5 it only gets worse. 26.e5♘e627.exd6♗xd628.♗xb628. ♗f6 ♗f8 29. ♗e5+−28…♕xb629.♖xd6♕xb230.♖b1♕a331.♖xc6♗b732.♖xb7♖xb733.♕d5 The position is roughly around even. ♖be7?!33… ♕xc3 34. ♖xe6 ♖xe6 35. ♕xe6+ ♖f7 36. ♗d5 ♕c2+ 37. ♔h1 ♕b1+34.♘b5! ♕e335.♘c7♖xc736.♖xc7♔h836… g5! would have given Black good saving chances.37.♖b7♘c538.♖b538. ♕f7 ♘xb7 39. ♕f6+ ♔g8 40. ♗d5++−38…♘e439.♖b3♕a7?! 40.♕c6
Perhaps Fedder resigned a bit too soon, but the position is quite bad in any case. 1-0
Against his Lebanese opponent Tony Abouchaaya, Rafiq was the better player. This game shows us how two minor pieces are more powerful than the rook and pawns when we are still in the middlegame and also how a queen and knight can combine together to launch a deadly attack against an opponent’s king.
Khan, Mohamed Rafiq – Abouchaaya, Tony1-0 Olympiad-24 1980.11.20 Annotations: Sagar Shah
1.d4♘f62.♘f3g63.g3♗g74.♗g2O-O5.O-Od56.c4dxc47.♘a3c38.bxc3c59.♕b3♘c610.♖d1♘a511.♕b5♗d712.♕b2♗a413.♖e1♖c814.e4cxd415.cxd4♕c716.♗d2♘c617.♖ac1a618.♘c4♗b519.a4♗xc420.♖xc4♕d721.♕b6♘g422.h3♘xd423.♖xd4♗xd424.♘xd4♘e525.♗e3♘c426.♕b4♘xe327.♖xe3♖c1+28.♔h2♖a129.♘e2♖xa4 We join the position at this point where the position looks unclear. White has the two pieces for the rook, but Black has two additional queenside pawns. 30.♕b3b5?!30… a5 31. ♘c3 ♖b4 32. ♕a3 e6 was a better way to play even though it meant giving up the a5 pawn. 33. ♕xa5 ♖b2∞31.♘c3! ♖a131… ♖c4 32. ♘d5⩲32.♕b2♖a533.♘d5 In a matter of couple of moves White has now got a completely dominating position! ♖e834.♕d2! The queen and the knight and the rook are going to combine well for a final attack on the black king. ♕d835.♖d3e636.♘e3♕b637.♘g4! ♖c838.♖d6♕c539.♕h6♕c340.e5 Black is murdered on the dark squares! A nice show of how two minor pieces are always much more useful than a rook in a middlegame and also how a queen and knight can be used as potent attackers. 1-0
IM Franz Hoelzl of Austria is a strong player. But Rafiq launched an imaginative attack against his opponent’s king. Quite noteworthy in this game is how the rook lifts itself from the back rank to checkmate black’s king.
Khan, Mohamed Rafiq – Hoelzl, Franz 2415 1-0 Olympiad-24 1980.11.20 Annotations: Sagar Shah
1.d4♘f62.♘f3g63.g3c54.♗g2♗g75.O-O Rafiq Khan stays true to his style. He likes to play openings where he can control the centre, and fianchetto his king’s bishop and castle quickly. O-O6.c4♘c67.d5♘a58.♘a38. ♘fd2!? In order to develop you b1 knight to the normal c3 square.8…d69.♖e1♖b810.e4a611.♕e2♘e811… ♗d7 12. e5±11… e6!?∞12.e5 Once given the opportunity, Rafiq doesn’t hold back and is direct in his play. ♗g413.♗f4♘c714.♕d2b615.♖e4!? A very original idea of trying to swing the rook over to the kingside at some point for an attack and also doubling down the e-file.15. h3 ♗xf3 16. ♗xf3 dxe5 17. ♗xe5 ♗xe5 18. ♖xe5 ♘c6 and the knight jumps to d4.15. ♘h4!? dxe5 16. ♗xe5 ♗xe5 17. ♖xe5 ♘c6 18. ♖e3 ♘d4 19. ♘c2±15…♗f515… ♗xf3 16. ♗xf3 dxe5 17. ♗xe5 ♗xe5 18. ♖xe5 ♘c616.♖e2♘b717.♖ae1 White is now clearly better. b518.♘h418. h3!+−18…♗g419.♖e4♕c820.♗h6♗h321.♗h121. ♗xg7! ♔xg7 22. ♗xh3 ♕xh3 23. ♘xg6! fxg6 24. ♖h4+− would have been a winning attack for White.21…dxe522.♗xg7♔xg723.♖xe5e624.♖h5! Rafiq Khan was alert and spots the tactic. ♖h824… gxh5 25. ♕g5+ ♔h8 26. ♕f6+ ♔g8 27. ♖e5+−25.♕h6+♔f625… ♔g8 26. ♘xg6 fxg6 27. ♖xh3+−26.♖he526. ♘f3 ♗f5 27. ♘e5 Next up is g4 and the king should be mated in the centre of the board.26…♕f827.♕f4+♔g728.♘f328. g4!? h5 29. gxh5+−28…f629.♖5e3♕d630.♕h4♗f531.dxe631. g4!+−31…♘d832.cxb5axb533.e7♘de634.g4g535.♕g3♕xg3+36.hxg3♗xg437.♘h2♗f538.g4♗g639.♖xe6♘xe640.♖xe6 White wins two pieces for the rook and the rest is quite easy. b441.♘c4♗f742.♖e4♗d543.e8=Q♖bxe844.♖xe8♖xe845.♗xd5 1-0
Not shying away from complications
It’s easy to assume that Rafiq Khan didn’t like complications. As a person who thrived on logic, he liked to keep things under control. But when the situation demanded or when wanted to win at all costs, he would unleash his aggressive side as seen in this game against Hari Om Sharma. It is not flawless when subjected to the modern engines, but it shows how Rafiq Khan understood what was required to be done in the position.
Hari Om Sharma – Rafiq Khan0-1 A Mudgal Memorial, Agra 1994.??.?? Annotations: Sagar,Shah
After seeing many games of Rafiq Khan it is easy to believe that he was a highly positional player. However, when the situation demanded to win, he was ready to take risks, like in this game. 1.d4♘f62.c4g63.♘c3♗g74.e4d65.f3O-O6.♗e3♘c67.♕d2e58.d5♘d49.♘ge2♘xe210.♘xe2c611.g4cxd512.cxd5♗xg4! Rafiq Khan is alert and sacrifices a piece for compensation. 13.fxg4♘xe414.♕b4♕h4+15.♘g3♘xg316.♗f2 This was what White was banking on. a5! Rafiq Khan doesn’t let his initiative dissipate. 17.♕a4 Surprisingly the queen doesn’t have too many squares to go to. It must make sure that the knight cannot give a dangerous discovered attack and also that the pawn on g4 doesn’t fall because if it does then Qe4+ would lose the rook on h1.17. ♕d2 ♘xf1!−+17. ♕b3 ♕xg4 18. ♗xg3 ♕e4+−+17. ♕c4 b5 18. ♕d3 ♕xg4 19. ♗xg3 ♕b4+−+17…b517… ♕h6! Rafiq finds this idea on the next move, but here it was even more powerful. 18. ♗xg3 f5!−+ The central pawns are going to simply roll over White’s position.17… e4!? is also an interesting way to continue. 18. ♗xg3 ♕xg4∓18.♕d118. ♗xb5 should have been played. It is understandable that Hari Om Sharma didn’t want more lines to be opened up in the position but this would have been the best. e4! 19. ♗xg3 ♕xg418. ♕xb5 ♕xg4−+18…♕h6! 19.♗xg3♕e3+19… f5!20.♕e2♕c521.♖d121. ♕xb5 ♕d4 followed by Rb8 gives Black decent play.21…e422.♗h3 Objectively White has consolidated, but practically Black still has chances as we shall see in the game. ♖fe823.a3 This move is understandable as it prevents Qb4+ but in future it will allow Black to further open the position with b4.23. ♗f2 e3 24. ♗g3 ♕b4+ 25. ♔f1 ♖ac823. ♔f1!±23…♗e524.♗f2e324… ♗c3+!? 25. ♔f1 e3∞25.♗h4b426.O-Obxa327.bxa3♖ab828.♖b1?!28. ♖c1∞28…♖xb129.♖xb1♕xa330.♗g2♕c531.♖d1? ♕c331… ♖b8!−+32.♖d3♕b233.♕xb2?33. ♗f1∞ And the position is still complicated.33…♗xb2 After exchanging the queens Hari Om Sharma realized that there is no way to stop both e2 and a5 pawns. He resigned the game.33… ♗xb2 34. ♖b3 ♗d4 35. ♗e1 e2+ 36. ♔h1 a4 37. ♖a3 ♖c8−+0-1
Rafiq was a regular at the Piloo Mody Open organised in Lucknow by N.K.Wal (1948-2010). He had won it in 1984 (joint first), 1986 and 1992 (jointly). In 1987, Chess Mate had offered two Brilliancy Prizes of Rs 100 each in the Piloo Mody Open. Surprisingly, both prizes were awarded to Rafiq, not for dashing tactical play, but for beautiful positional play! Both games are given below annotated by IM Manuel Aaron:
This game, and the next, won the brilliancy prizes sponsored by Chess Mate. 1.d4♘f62.♘f3b63.g3♗b74.♗g2e65.O-O♗e76.c4d57.cxd5exd58.♘c3O-O9.♗g5h610.♗xf6♗xf611.♕b3♖e812.e3c613.♖ac1♘a614.♖fd1♘c715.a4♖b816.♘e2g517.♕c2♕e718.g4 White plans to exploit the slight weakness of the f5 square. ♘e619.♘g3♘g720.h3♖bc821.♘f5♘xf522.♕xf5♖c723.b4♗g724.♕b1♖f825.♘h2 This knight is headed for f5. ♖d726.♘f1♖e827.♘g3♗f828.b5c529.♘f5♕f630.dxc5bxc531.a5♖b832.♖d2♗a633.♗xd5♖xb534.♕a2♖b435.e4c4Better was 35… ♗b5 36. ♖dd1 a6 37. ♕a3 ♕e536.♖dc2♖b337.♗xc4♗xc438.♖xc4♖xh339.♖c8♖hd340.♖1c6♕e541.♕c4♖d1+42.♔g2♖1d2 Threat 43. Qf4 targeting f2. 43.♘g3♕f444.♕c5! ♖d845.♖xd8♖xd846.♕f5! ♖d247.♕xf4gxf448.♘f5♖a249.a6♖a350.♘xh6+♗xh651.♖xh6♔g752.g552. ♖d6±52…♖a553.♔f3♖xg554.♖c6♖a555.♔xf4♖a256.f3♖a357.e5♖a4+58.♔f5♖a359.f4♖a5If 59… ♖a4 60. ♖d6 ♖a1 61. e6 fxe6+ 62. ♔xe6 ♖e1+ 63. ♔d5 ♖f1 64. ♖d7+ ♔f6 65. ♖xa7 ♖xf4 66. ♖b7! ♖a4 67. ♖b6++−60.♖d6! ♖a461.e6♖a5+62.♔g4fxe663.♖xe6♔f764.♖h6♖a1If 64… ♔f8 65. f5 ♖a1 66. ♔g5 ♖a2 67. ♖c6 Threat 68.Kf6 winning.65.♖h7+♔f666.♖xa7♖a367.♖a8♖a168.a7♖a369.♖f8+ 1-0
Rafiq Khan, MP…. – S.K.Sharma, Del1-0 Piloo Mody Open, Lucknow 1985.07.06 Annotation : Manuel Aaron 1.e4e52.♘f3♘c63.♗b5g64.d4exd45.♘xd4♗g76.♘xc6bxc67.♗c4♘e78.O-Od59.♗b3O-O10.♘c3d411.♘a4♕d612.c3c513.cxd4cxd414.♗g5♗d7! 15.♖e1c5?15… ♘c616.e5!! From now we see Rafiq’s extra-ordinary natural skill in the middle-game. ♗xe517.♗xe7♕xe718.f4c419.♖xe5♕b4 Looks as though white must return the extra knight, but watch! 20.♘c5! cxb321.♘xd7♖fd822.♖d5!+− bxa223.♖xd4♕xb224.♖d2! ♕c325.♖axa2♖ac826.♕e2♖e827.♖ac2♖xe2If 27… ♕a1+ 28. ♖d1 ♕a4 29. ♘f6+ ♔f8 30. ♖xc8 ♖xc8 31. f5!+−28.♖xc3♖xg2+29.♔xg2♖xc330.♘e5♖c731.♖a2! Always keep your opponent busy defending his weaknesses! f632.♘g4♔g733.♖a6! The way in which white controls this endgame and wins is very instructive. ♖f734.♔f3h535.♘e3♖d736.h4! ♔f737.♘c4♖d3+38.♘e3White plays it safe. He could also win with: 38. ♔e4 ♖h3 39. ♖xa7+ ♔e6 40. ♖a6+ ♔e7 41. ♘b6!+− wins, but requires a bit of calculation.38…g5White hopes to exchange off all the pawns and get a draw in the resultant rook versus rook and knight ending. If 38… ♖d7 39. f5!+−39.hxg5fxg540.♖xa7+♔g641.♖a6+♔f742.fxg5h443.♖h6! Always attack the enemy passed pawn from the rear! h344.♖xh3♔g645.♖g3♖a346.♔e4♖b347.♖g1♖b4+48.♔e5♖b5+49.♘d5 1-0
(Notes : For Chess enthusiasts -If any of the moves are missing, kindly log into the link below: https://www.chessbase.in/news/The-story-of-Rafiq-Khan)
After Rafique Khan passed away, we at ChessBase India contacted some of the people close to him in order to know more about Rafiq the chess player and also a person. Here are some messages sent to us.
Pravin Thipsay, third GM of India:
I met Mohamed Rafiq Khan for the first time in 1978 though I had heard a lot about him. Due to my university exam schedule I didn’t play any National ‘B’ until 1981, so I wasn’t able to personally watch Rafiq until he had become National Champion. But the then National Players from Mumbai always shared the important events and information with the other Mumbai players immediately on return. In one of the National ‘B’ Championships in the late 70s, an unknown Player Mohamed Rafiq Khan belonging to an undeveloped state of MP (in terms of Chess strength) emerged as the surprise winner and that too with an outstanding unparalleled score of 13.0/15! This absolutely stunned the Indian chess fraternity at that time. We were all amused to know about him through the stories we heard from the Mumbai players who returned dumbfounded after the “B”. I then learn that he had been a “desi” player for a few years before and had learned the rules of International chess hardly six months before the “B”. Even during the said “B”, Rafiq was reluctant to move pawns two squares and invariably began the game with a strange pieces and pawns configuration resulting from starting moves ..,e6, d6, g6, Bg7, Ne7, 0-0 followed by …b6, Bb7, Nd7 etc. Despite this, he not only defended his position well in every game but even went on to exploit the overextended and weakened position of the adversary to gain material. The Indian Chess fraternity was mentally shattered after this surprise result. “Doesn’t the strategy we have learnt over the years make any sense at all?” was the major question before the fraternity! Rafiq’s first National ‘A’ was however, quite dismal for him. His ‘strategy’ and tactics, which gave him a record score if 13/15 didn’t work against stalwarts like Ravisekhar, Parameswaran, Aaron, Nasir Ali, Mohamed Hassan, Vaidya. Rafiq failed to make it to the Indian team in his debut National ‘A’ and the Indian chess fraternity gave a sigh of relief. “Our knowledge isn’t a waste after all!” was the reaction. But despite this, with his polite cultured behaviour, Rafiq had made a place in the hearts of the chess players. The National ‘A’ result of 1976 might have led to introspection by him because the next National Championships saw an entirely different Rafiq. He had learnt the basic openings reasonably well and wasn’t getting into bad Positions. This factor, coupled with his tactical accuracy gave him the National title in the second attempt (1978).
I met Rafiq for the first time under the above circumstances. Though I hadn’t Played open Nationals, by virtue of my other results, I had become one of the highest rated players in the country. Due to Rafiq being national champion and my being a highly rated player, we were selected to represent India in closed International Grandmaster Tournament in Tehran in September 1978. During this tournament, we became close friends and my respect for him grew further. Though Rafiq didn’t have any knowledge about the chess strategy, his (natural) understanding of the strategy was fantastic. He had a great judgment and sense of survival. He exactly knew when passive defence would work and when it wouldn’t. This always resulted in him taking decisions quickly. Rafiq also had a fantastic depth and feel for practical endings and rarely made endgame mistakes, strategic or tactical. He understood the nature of chess naturally. In 1980 Malta Olympiad, he scored 10/13 on the third Board. An individual medal in Olympiad going to a Non-European was something no one could even dream of. And yet, Rafiq had achieved it!
Then came a sad phase in his life. where he fell ill unexpectedly and had to be admitted to the KEM hospital (Mumbai) for several weeks for Treatment of Tuberculosis and other respiratory as well as cardiac Problems. Though he fully recovered from the ailments, he was shaken and had lost his confidence to a great extent. The family responsibilities were also growing and he wasn’t able to focus fully on his career. Though he was a member of Indian Team in 1982 (Lucerne Olympiad) and 1983 (New Delhi Asian Team Championship), he wasn’t able to repeat his performance of the Malta Olympiad (1980). In 80s, he prematurely retired as a chess player and was eventually forgotten in the flow of time. On a personal level, we were very good friends. In 1991, during the Asian Women’s Championship (wherein Bhagyshree won the Asian title) and a top International rating Tournament in the country (which I won) Rafiq was a part of organising team and made his presence felt by playing the role of a very courteous and generous host. Rafiq was a very personal friend of both Bhagyshree and me. Unfortunately we never met after Chhattisgarh International Tournament for Chief Minister’s Trophy (2002). Rafiq called me last year just to say Hello and when I told him that Bhagyshree was playing in the International Grandmaster Open Chess Championship, he went to the tournament hall just to meet her. His demise is a severe personal loss to us. Had his health been good, Rafiq could and would have certainly achieved more at the International level. Our salutes to one of the greatest geniuses from the Indian Chess family.
Manuel Aaron, 9-time national champion and 1st IM of India
A poor carpenter from Bhopal, barely educated, Rafiq Khan is a story of a man who briefly became famous because of his prowess in chess. He came into the limelight by winning the Madhya Pradesh State Chess Championship in 1975. In 1976 he surprisingly won the National “B” Championship in Calcutta and Indian chess looked at him in awe as he finished ahead of almost all the best chess players of India. His rivals were proficient and experienced in modern chess theory which was denied to Rafiq because of his lack of English knowledge, yet he won. I was already aware of his good reputation when I first met him at the 1976 National “A” in Calcutta. But he was a big disappointment to me as he had a few gaps in his understanding of the middle-game, especially the handling of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bishops. Naturally, he didn’t do well in the “A” at Calcutta.
But by the time the next National “A” came in Cochin, he was a transformed player, his middle-game had improved dramatically and he took the title on tie-break from V.Ravikumar who became an IM two years later. Clearly, Rafiq was of IM calibre. Unfortunately for him the AICF and the young MP State Chess Association (MPSCA) at that time lacked the vision and wisdom to help and provide Rafiq with opportunities to become an IM. It may be recalled that when I won the National Championship in 1959, the then AICF Secretary S.K.Narasimhan (1918-1982) worked hard and tirelessly to provide me with opportunities to become India’s first IM. In all likelihood, the MPSCA, with men like D.C.Verma, got him the job with BHEL, Bhopal, which allowed him to live life with dignity. Before Rafiq there were two illustrious Muslim chess players who performed brilliantly in chess despite their lack of English knowledge and chess theory: Sultan Khan (1905-1966) and Mohamed Hassan (1931-1994). Actually people in Bhopal fondly referred to Rafiq as “the second Sultan Khan”. Rafiq qualified and played in all the National “A” Championships from 1976 to 1984. His best was the 1977 Championship in Cochin which he won. His famous victims in Cochin were IMs Manuel Aaron, Ravi Sekhar, WIM Rohini Khadilkar, Ananda Kumar Ghosh, Mohan Babur, et al. After a gap of many years, the Indian Government sponsored the Indian Men’s team to the Malta Olympiad in 1980. Till then only the Indian Women’s team which comprised solely, or mainly, of the Khadilkar sisters were sponsored. The Government had denied support to the Men’s team till Malta, 1980, as they claimed it was ‘weak’ or sub-standard. In the early years of the All India Chess Federation, it was fashionable to speak lowly of our standards when compared with International standards. In 1956, when V.K.Raman Menon (famous for Ramji’s Corner in Times of India) who was secretary of the AICF at that time, tried to raise funds to send India’s first ever team to the Moscow Olympiad (the four players paid for their own airtickets), there were many who disparaged his efforts saying that if our team went to Moscow it will only bring dishonour to India. Our team vindicated Ramji’s efforts by finishing decently with Ramdas Gupta of Kanpur scoring 10.5/17, of which 7/9 (!) came in the final classification group. Rafiq did the same thing for India in Malta. He scored 10/13 to take the silver medal for the second best performance on Board Three to rubbish the long-held belief of the Government that Indian men are not strong enough for International chess. It was amazing that a Bhopal carpenter won a medal at the Olympiad! Single-handedly, Rafiq had raised the popularity of chess in Madhya Pradesh.
After 1984 he did not participate in National championships. However in 2005 after the political shake-up in Indian Chess when a new organisation tried to run a parallel AICF offering huge prize money in their tournaments, Rafiq was tempted to return to chess, especially as some of the organisers of the new group commanded his respect. When he Emailed me through his student D.V.Singh, that he was going to play in a non-AICF tournament I tried to persuade him to avoid it but he did not heed me. Rafiq however, was not successful in those tournaments as a 20-year lay off from tournament chess cannot be kind to anybody’s chess power. Rafiq Khan should have easily become an IM, but it was not to be. A really great player, he was in the wrong place at the right time.
Rajesh Bahadur, former National A player
Rafiq Khan was meek and mild to talk to, never indulged in any mischief, nor did he made any complaint about uncomfortable situation if ever he faced one. Normally Rajendra Bagdi and I shared room with him whenever we participated in tournaments together. Always at ease, valued friendship very high and extended full support for analysis of adjourned games till we arrived at the final solution.
They proclaim “Like Poets Chess players are born”, there can be no better example of this maxim than Rafique. Though he was ignorant of various basic principles which govern chess, he had the knack of finding the smallest available opportunity to seize the initiative and exploit the position. In the beginning of his career he was regularly getting into worse positions out of the openings but once he reached the middle game he showed his class. The depth of his planning with clarity of strategic ideas and sensible judgment sometimes kept me amazed. It is easy to say that it all came naturally to him but without profound training and formal education as to how he demonstrated his skills is an enigma. It was a common occurrence for him to wriggle out of the worse position to defeat his opponents.
In the beginning, he was not at ease with White pieces on account of his limited opening and theoretical awareness, instead he liked his opponent to come after him so that he could take away the game once his opponent faltered at some point. I remember as he struggled with white pieces he opened with 1.d3 against R.B. Sapre (former National champion) in one of rounds in National ‘B‘ Patna 1975. In turn Sapre was so surprised that he thought for about 50 minutes before deciding upon his first move response and ultimately lost the game. However, as the time went by, in the company of elite chess players, given the exposure he learnt how to play decent opening and not to risk his chances in the early phase of the game. A carpenter by trade, he came from a very poor family and was not fortunate to get formal education. Nevertheless, he had high chess acumen and grasped easily whatever came his way particularly things related to chess. However, when he became National champion, he got a job in BHEL Bhopal and his pecuniary condition improved with time.
Up to 1976 we had been using English descriptive notation which is a bit difficult than the Algebraic notation currently in use. Although he struggled writing English letters and numbers for obvious reasons, he recorded the moves with utmost accuracy, I for one had never found an incorrect recorded move in his score-sheet and that indicates towards a vigilant mind, one of the very important attributes of a chess player. He was very proud to show me a game that he won with Black against T.N. Parmeswaran in a National A Championship during early eighties.
Vidit Gujrathi, India no.3
I was playing in an inter school level tournament in Kolkata when I was just 8-9 years old. Perhaps it was the Telegraph, but I don’t remember it accurately. But what I do remember is that I lost one of my games and started crying uncontrollably. My mother was naturally worried. At that point Rafiq Khan spoke to my mom and said, “Don’t worry about him crying. He has a fighter’s attitude just like Bobby Fischer, and he is crying because this game means so much to him.” Words from a great player like Rafiq Khan naturally boosted my mother and gave her the courage to continue my chess journey! My second meet with Rafiq Khan was over the chess board when I was around 10 years old. I remember that a big crowd had gathered around our board and I had managed to beat him. He was very graceful in his defeat. The last episode happened just a few months ago when I was in Pune at the ChampCoach training event with Vishy Anand. One of the students in the camp came towards me and gave me a pen with the words, “My coach Rafiq Khan has sent this pen for you.” What a thoughtful person. Even at this age he remembered me and made sure that I got the pen. Although the time I spent with him was very little, Rafiq Khan had made a deep impression on me not just as a chess player, but as a fine human being.
Dibyendu Barua, 2nd GM of India
The thing I remember about Rafiq Khan is that he was a natural player and was admired by all in 70’s & 80’s. He was very good in endgame.
Raja Ravisekhar, National champion of India in 1976
I am sorry to hear that Mohammed Rafique Khan has passed away – He scored the silver medal (I think with a score of 10/13) on the 3rd board at the 1980 Olympiad 1980 at a time when the financial rewards were not great – He was the National champion in Ernakulam 1978 but then these details are already known to you. His opening knowledge was suspect as he initially used to open 1.d3 but his play in the middle game and endgame was excellent – Like the late Nasiruddin Ghalib and Nasir Ali he learnt international chess after being expert in Indian chess.
Sannidhya Agrawal, student of Rafiq Khan
I met him as a kid in 2002 when I was just 13 to get trained under him. He was not only my coach but a father figure to me. He always treated me like his third son. He used to accompany me for the several tournaments as well. All these years even when I left chess in 2006, I was constantly in touch with him and his family and used to visit at least twice a year. The way I have witnessed his persona, no one ever has. He had an amazing sense of humor with lot of intelligence in it. Although he was not much educated but I haven’t seen much people with the kind of liberal, secular and progressive mindset that he possessed. As a player we all know he was one of the best talents India ever had. He was even called as Mir Sultan khan’s reincarnation by his colleagues. From being National ‘A’ champion to winning India’s first ever silver medal in the Malta Olympiad, winning open championships, he had numerous achievements under his belt. During his times, once he encountered GM O’Kelly in a tournament with white pieces. O’Kelly with black pieces played his own variation ie. O’Kelly variation in sicilian defence (Those who don’t know there is a variation in Sicilian defense with by his name), Mr. Khan crushed O’Kelly in his own variation after a one sided game. Mr. Khan and O’Kelly faced each other once again in a tournament after sometime, when Mr. Rafique Khan defeated him again. This was the kind of talent he had. Mostly he used to analyze his games in his head without any board. Even during his times when the games used to get adjourn, he never used board to analyze his game, as he in humor used to say that board are for those who cannot see. During that time with no computers available, his friends used to sit with him just to get a novelty in their respective lines. Even in later years with deteriorated eyesight, there was hardly a day when he never visited Bhopal Chess club. While attending his funeral a few days ago. I was wondering that it is so unfortunate for us as a chess fraternity to get to know about such legends after their demise. It would have been so much better if we teach about our chess history and its heroes as well to the young talent during their training.
Photo gallery:
This photo was taken at Trichy National A in 1979. The caption and description of players is done by GM Pravin Thipsay: Sitting (L to R): Nasir Ali (former National Champion and a great master of chess technique and positional play), T N Parameswaran (one of the most talented Indian players of all times. He won who won the Trichi National A in 1979), Viraf Avari (the future world amateur champion at the time of photograph), KBL Srivastava, (a belligerent genius from Delhi with immense over-confidence), Raja Ravisekhar (former twice National Champion), Manuel Aaron (9 times national champion), Ramchandra B Sapre (first National Champion of India, Elluru, 1955-56), S.N. Dutta. Standing (L-R): Md Rafiq Khan, Shyamal Dutta (Barua’s cousin in law), S.N. Ravishankar, S.V. Natarajan (several times member of Indian team and a genius in king side attack who turned into an unsuccessful politician and a social reformist later), Vijay Adhikari, Mohan T Babur, N. Neelakantan, The great Mohd. Hassan and Nasiruddin Ghalib.
Bagdi (Black) playing against Raja Ravisekhar (sitting on right), the standing players are (from left to right): Vijay Adhikari, Rohini Khadilkar, RadheShyam Gupta, Rafiq Khan and Manuel AaronAbid Ali (black pieces), a talented player from Madhya Pradesh, takes on Manuel Aaron as Rafiq Khan watches onWith his wife Zahida KhanLeft to right- Rafique’s eldest daughter Sajida, his wife Zahida Khan, with their eldest son Shafique in her hands, and his other daughter RashidaRafique Khan with his eldest son Shafique Rafique (on the right) with his daughter Sajida, father Abdul Rashid Khan
Rafiq Khan humorously used to narrate the incident of his appointment in the municipal corporation. When he went to Mr. Buch, the then administrator for the job, his first question was, “Till which grade have you studied?” To which he replied, “Sir, I am an illiterate.” At first, Mr. Buch held his head in his hands, but within five minutes, Mr. Khan got the job.
The Vikram Award, highest sports award for any player in Madhya Pradesh, was conferred upon Rafiq Khan in 1976-77
A short biography of Rafiq Khan’s life
By Sannidhya Agrawal
Date of birth – 12th July 1946
Father’s Name – Abdul Rashid Khan (passed away in 1993)
Mother’s name – Khurshid Beghum (passed away when Rafiq Khan was 16 years old)
Sibling – 1 younger sister
Marriage – He got married at the age of 17
Education – Studied at Madrasa, no formal education
Views – He was extremely secular and liberal in his views.
Mhd. Rafiq Khan was born in Bhopal in a poor Muslim family. His father was a poor carpenter who used to earn for his family by doing wood work. Due to the financial and economic crisis of his family, he was deprived of education in his propitious days of childhood. At a raw age, Rafiq began to do carpentry with his father and became his father’s assistant. He had a passion and zeal for all kinds of sports but he did not have the time to play hockey or football. From morning to evening, he and his father used to work really hard and went to bed worn out and fatigued on a daily basis. By the age of 16, he started earning some money from the work of carpentry. In between of all the toil, whenever he used to get exhausted, he had tea at a nearby shop and used to notice some people playing chess and carrom there. He found the game of chess quite intriguing and he started playing and discovering chess. Every day, he used to play chess regularly before sleeping and bound himself to a rule that under all circumstances, he has to play chess at least an hour before sleeping.
Gradually, he developed an understanding for chess moves and got quite a good grasp of the game but all this time, he used to play desi chess (a different form of chess with a few different rules like pawns can move only 1 square even when they are at their starting rank etc.) Rafiq Khan started playing chess on the Patiya (a kind of Nawabi tradition where people play chess and carom on pavements of the streets along with tea.) This pattern continued for a total of 12 years. By then, he had become a staunch player of chess. Later inspired by the success of Bobby Fischer, in 1974, Rafiq Khan participated in his first state tournament, which took place in Jabalpur, and became the champion. On winning that competition, he hoped that he would be identifiable to people, but he still remained anonymous. After becoming the state winner, Rafiq Khan became a participant of the national competition. In 1975, he played his first National ‘B’ Chess Competition held in Patna and secured tenth position. Next year in 1976 he won National ‘B’, held in Calcutta. In 1978, Rafiq Khan went on to become the National ‘A’ champion in Ernakulam, but even then he did not receive much recognition in his own state. Even after reaching the epitome of success, he could not get the fame which others got through the smallest of achievements. Rafiq Khan used to say that it doesn’t matter what economic crisis, problems or miseries you have in your life, if courage, perseverance, regular practice is present, then success can be acquired.
Rafiq Khan was on the verge of discontinuing his practice of chess because of extreme poverty, when Shahnawaz Khan, a chess admirer, noticed him. With the efforts of Mr. Shahnawaz Khan, he was appointed as a carpenter in the Municipal Corporation of Bhopal. He humorously used to narrate the incident of his appointment in the municipal corporation. When he went to Mr. Buch, the then administrator for the job, his first question was, “Till which grade have you studied?” To which he replied, “Sir, I am an illiterate.” At first, Mr. Buch held his head in his hands, but within five minutes, Mr. Khan got the job. While doing carpentry in the municipal corporation, Rafiq Khan became completely determined towards chess. He also played several national and international tournaments in the time being. He continued chess for 9 years with complete immersion and dedication. In this short period, he got the opportunity to play overseas for around four to five times. Firstly, in 1978, he played the Grandmaster Chess Tournament in Malaysia. He participated in his second international competition organized in Iran in the same year. Mr. Khan also participated in the Silver King event held in Dhaka in 1979. He also went to Malta and Switzerland to participate in Chess Olympiads in 1980 and 1982 respectively. His winning the board silver medal in Malta Olympiad created history for Indian chess. He was the first ever Indian chess player to achieve this honour. Rafiq Khan’s national record has not even been broken within the country.
In the national ‘B’ Chess championship 1976, he had set a record of scoring 13 out of 15 points; which is the all-time high till date. Also he made a record of winning 9 back to back rounds in the same event. Rafiq’s huge success was neither acknowledged much by the newspapers nor by the government. When he was at the peak of his career, the Janata Party came to the power. During this time, an English magazine ‘Onlooker’ did a detailed story on Mr. Khan’s achievements and the negligence of government towards him. This story reached the then Industry Minister George Fernandes. George recommended Rafiq Khan for a job in Bharat Heavy Electricals ltd. and he soon got a job in BHEL but his illiteracy became an obstacle for him. He was given the job of Operator Grade. Rafiq Khan probably would have gone farther in chess but unfortunately he could not do it.
In 1984, he suffered from severe sinus disease. After a year of suffering from this disease, he was diagnosed with anemia and he fell really sick. Despite many attempts, his life was saved but chess was lost. Due to health issues, he nearly left playing competitive chess. Although he stayed away from competitions but he was never isolated from the game of chess. He was constantly engrossed in chess, visited City chess club daily till the last day of his life. He also trained a couple of young players who went on to play at national and international levels.
______
Sannidhya Agrawal, the author of the above biography and Rafiq Khan’s student, has contributed heavily to this article. He was instrumental in acquiring the pictures, scanning them and providing them to us. Our heartfelt gratitude to him.
Apart from Sannidhya, I would also like to thank Akshat Khamparia for actively contributing a lot of content to this article. Pravin Thipsay and Manuel Aaron provided a lot insights which gave us a detailed picture of Rafiq Khan the chess player.
Messages from other readers of ChessBase India:
I played in National ‘B’ 1976 and also qualified for ‘A’. I played two games with him then, both drawn. A thorough Gentleman. He got along well with everybody. He was the first to smile – smile would come naturally to him – soon after the eye contact. I could speak ‘broken Hindi’, those days. So, we did have a bit of casual conversation. One incident stands out in my memory. It happened probably during National ‘B’, Delhi 1980. One of his team mate’s games, going to the end game, had just concluded. He was showing a difficult winning line in the ending which his team mate had missed. I had finished my game and happened to stand by watching his analysis. After showing the win to his team mate, he turned to me and remarked ‘Teek Hai?’ The remark speaks volumes of the man as I was no match for his chess ability.
– Ravi Shankar
I met him few times and he was a gentleman and humble also.I faced him once on board and was able to defeat him but that was not his prime time .Win or loss he always was smiling.
– Saket Kumar
Very saddened at the passing away of my chess colleague. I met him over and off the board in those 1970-80s. In the first ever All India Civil Services Chess Championship, Bhopal, he was the guest of honor for the inaugural function and I was a part of the Madras Team. Though he was not selected for the Asian leg of the India’s first Asian GM tournament, and considering his National Championship title, he was selected along with GM Thipsay for the Tehran event in the same year. His bagging the Malta 1980 Silver Medal is an indelible Indian chess record ever to remember. My heartfelt condolences to his family members and friends. May his soul rest in peace and quiet.
– V. Kameswaran, India’s first International Arbiter
He was a great player and human being. Saw him playing in National B. He was not well versed with English. Even he had problem in writing moves like PK4. He became B champion when he played for the first time in National B,don’t remember the year. Natural player, no book knowledge.
– Vinod Sharma
He was an original God gifted chess player. He never studied any chess book but he had defeated all the top players of India. We have lost a great chess player. May his soul rest in peace.
– Manoj Verma
शतरंज के भूतपूर्व राष्ट्रीय चैंपियन माल्टा ओलंपियाड के रजत पदक विजेता एवं विक्रम अवार्ड से सम्मानित उस्ताद रफीक खान का हार्ट अटैक से निधन का समाचार मिलते ही प्रदेश एवं छत्तीसगढ़ की शतरंज प्रेमियों में शोक की लहर फैल गई । उनका पूरा जीवन शतरंज के प्रति समर्पित रहा । अपने स्वाभाविक एवं नैसर्गिक खेल से उन्होंने शतरंज जगत में सम्माननीय मुकाम हासिल किया । मघ्यप्रदेश शतरंज संघ उनको सादर नमन करते हुए उनकी आत्मा की शांति के लिए श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करता है !
– Kapil Saxena, Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Chess Association
He was not educated, so he couldn’t read and write. Awful in the opening, his forte was middle game. Once he was playing in Malaysia/Singapore. The then FIDE President, Campomanes, watched the board Rafiq Khan playing. The position was horrible for Rafiq. When Compomanes reached his room in the lodge he inquired about the result of this particular board. On learning Rafiq had drawn the game, he said, ” I knew it.”
– Sundarajan Srinivasagam
There are players who play and then there are players who love the game … I remember the time when I was a small kid and all I could aim as a Bhopali chess player was to defeat ‘Ustad’ – thats what they used to call him here. A true inspiration, a true chess lover and an amazing mentor ! He will always be remembered as one of the finest of chess players India ever got and will always be remembered as Ustad ! May his soul Rest in Peace!
– Anshul Saxena
source: http://www.chessbase.in / ChessBase India / Home / by Sagar Shah / August 13th, 2019
In the history of Odisha, there had never been a Muslim woman helming the top post of any municipality. That changed last week when she won the election to the chairperson post of Bhadrak town.
Thirty-year-old Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib has smashed many social and political conventions. Fighting the polls as an Independent in Bhadrak, the 31-year-old of Puruna Bazaar area made the candidates of three major political parties – the ruling BJD, BJP and Congress – bite the dust.
In the history of Odisha, there had never been a Muslim woman helming the top post of any municipality. That changed last week when she won the election to the chairperson post of Bhadrak town.
Gulmaki won the election by defeating her nearest rival, Samita Mishra of BJD, by a margin of 3,256 votes. While she secured 28,115 votes, Samita bagged 24,859 votes. The BJP candidate came a distant third with 6,787 votes while the Congress nominee could only secure 1,977 votes.
In a communally-sensitive town like Bhadrak, Gulmaki’s poll victory was an outcome which was least expected.
Though there were councilors from minority community in the past, the municipality chairperson post was never helmed by a Muslim. The fact that a Muslim woman could be choice of voters, majority of whom were Hindus, was something which even poll pundits could not predict.
The chairperson-elect said she was both humbled and proud to be the first Muslim woman in the State to be elected to the top municipality post.
“The whole of Bhadrak town is celebration my victory. People were steadfast in their support to me. I dedicate my win to both Hindus and Muslims of the town,” she said.
Of the total 30 Wards in Bhadrak Municipality, 12 are dominated by Muslims while two have a sizable population of the minority community.
There are more than 87,000 voters in Bhadrak town of whom over 34,000 are Muslims.
Contrary to the perception, there was no reservation in the minds of Hindu voters towards a Muslim candidate.
“While campaigning, I was treated like one of their own. In my personal experience, there is no divide between Hindus and Muslims as was being spread by some people during the elections. Irrespective of religion, voters showered their love and blessings on me.”
Though Gulmaki is a political greenhorn, her husband Sheikh Jahid Habib was the former district vice-president of BJD’s youth wing.
In the run-up to the urban local body polls, people of Puruna Bazaar demanded a chairperson candidate from the area which always bore the brunt of civic authorities’ neglect.
However, BJD ignored the demand following which Gulmaki filed nomination as an Independent candidate.
Development of the town is top on the agenda of Gulmaki, who hold a degree in Business Administration.
“Roads and drainage system need to be be drastically improved in the town. Especially in Puruna Bazaar, the living conditions are poor. I plan to work on these issues first after taking office.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Odisha / by Anup Nayak, Express News Service / March 28th, 2022
Chadabugh Village (Budgam District),JAMMU & KASHMIR :
Srinagar:
1000’s of individuals of varied villages of Budgam district had been current within the funeral procession of two younger brothers in Chadabugh village of Budgam district. Each eye was tearful tears, cries and sobs had been heard in all places in final rights of the slain Particular Police Officer (SPO) and his brother who had been laid to relaxation of their native of Budgam district at the moment.
Mens girls and Childrens had been seen with tearful eyes attending final rites. Emotional scenes had been witnessed when the mortal stays of SPO Ishfaq Ahmed, 24, and his brother Umer Jan, 23, reached their native village. Girls, ladies had been seen showering tofees, almonds and flowers on the coffins of two siblings.
Ishfaq, an SPO and his brother Umer suffered important wounds yesterday when terrorists barged into their home on Saturday (March 26) late night and fired on them indiscriminately injuring them critically. They had been imidaitely rushed to hospital.
Nevertheless SPO Ishfaq was declared introduced lifeless on the hospital whereas his brother Umer was admitted in hospital in critcal situation the place he breathed his final at 5 am in morning.
Villagers had been in deep shock when the heard {that a} residence misplaced a bread earner and a younger energetic pupil. “Each eye was moist, younger males had been beloved by all of the villagers for his or her jolly nature,” a villager mentioned including “we do not know what was their fault.”
In the meantime to pay honor and respect to martyr Ishfaq Ahmad resident of Chatabugh Budgam, who attained martyrdom yesterday in a terror assault at his residential home, a wreath laying ceremony was held at District Police Traces, Budgam at the moment.
Civil and law enforcement officials and different safety officers laid floral wreaths on the mortal stays and paid wealthy tributes to the martyr for his sacrifice within the line of responsibility.
“We pay our wealthy tributes to the martyr for his supreme sacrifice made within the line of responsibility and stand by his household at this important juncture,” SP budgam mentioned. In the meantime Prime law enforcement officials go to Budgam to mourn killing of SPO, his brother residence
Senior law enforcement officials together with IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, DIG Central Kashmir Sujit Kumar Singh, and SSP Budgam Tahir Saleem Sunday visited the household of slain SPO and his brother at Chadabugh, Budgam. law enforcement officials prolonged their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved household of slain SPO Ishfaq Ahmed and his brother Umer Jan who had been killed within the militant assault.
Pertinently, terrorists yesterday night barged contained in the residential home of SPO Ishfaq Ahmad Dar indiscriminately. On this terror incident, Ishfaq Ahmad attained martyrdom whereas as his brother who was shifted to hospital additionally succumbed to his accidents early this morning.
Since final one month many police officers , off responsibility police and different safety personals and political employees had been focused by terrorists many acquired killed.
Dwell TV
source: http://www.thechhattisgarh.com / The Chhattisgarh.com / Home> India / Marcgh 27th, 2022
Aurangabad, MAHARASHTRA /Sheffield, South Yorkshire, U.K.
Sabahat Khan who is pursuing her post-graduation in public health, won with more than 2,500 votes out of a total of 6,900 votes.
“People saw me as a person and my potential to represent them as a student leader, not my attire. And that’s most important, said Sabahat. (Source: Facebook/Sabahat Khan)
Sabahat Khan, a hijab-wearing woman who is from Aurangabad, has been elected president of the students’ union of Sheffield Hallam University in UK.
Khan, who is pursuing her post-graduation in public health, won with more than 2,500 votes out of a total of 6,900 votes.
“People saw me as a person and my potential to represent them as a student leader, not my attire. And that’s most important,” said Sabahat.
“I am proud of who I am and will do everything in my control to empower all those who wear hijab. I come from Aurangabad, but I had ideas and see where they have taken me. No stereotyping has stopped me and it should not stop anybody. There is a lot more to me than what I wear. Instead let’s focus on points that are more important,” said Sabahat, who did her BSc from Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.
Sabahat said her work as international students’ officer (ISO) during the pandemic has helped her connect with international students from all backgrounds.
But she also insists on pointing to the inclusive and supportive culture of the society at Sheffield Hallam University. “Irrespective of gender, ethnicity and religion, everybody deserves the same treatment,” said Sabahat.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Mumbai / by Pallavi Smart, Mumbai / March 24th, 2022
Bushra topped among all institutes of the VTU with an aggregate CGPA of 9.73. She is also the first-rank holder in the civil engineering branch as well as in the women’s category.
Bushra Mateen receives the gold medals during the 21st annual convocation ceremony of Visvesaraya Technological University in Belagavi on Thursday
Bushra Mateen, a civil engineering student of SLN College of Engineering, Raichur, won 16 gold medals at the 21st annual convocation ceremony of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) in Belagavi on Thursday. Bushra thus set a record for the most number of gold medals by a student in VTU’s history to date, overhauling the previous tally of 13.
Bushra topped among all institutes of the VTU with an aggregate cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 9.73. She is also the first-rank holder in the civil engineering branch as well as in the women’s category.
She won the Shri SG Balekundri gold medal, JNU University gold medal, VTU gold medal, RN Shetty gold medal among others. She won two cash prizes too.
Bushra Mateen, a civil engineering student of SLN College of Engineering in Raichur
‘My father is a civil engineer and so is my elder brother. I got my inspiration from them. My family has been supportive of my choices, from taking up the course to choosing the college, they agreed with my choices and interest. My father wanted me to study medicine, but he was equally supportive when I told him about civil engineering. It involves visiting sites, practical and labour work that can challenge a girl’s capabilities but I always believed in my strength. This branch is not restricted to private companies but also has government jobs and my goal is to prepare for the UPSC now,” said Bushra.
“I always referred to textbooks as it increased my knowledge and prepared me for a competitive environment. I believed in God and never compared myself to others. I believe nothing is impossible to achieve if you have self-confidence and determination,” added Bushra who also expressed her gratitude towards the faculty of SLN College of Engineering for guiding her throughout the degree.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Rishita Khanna, Bengaluru / March 11th, 2022
Rishita is an intern with The Indian Express, Bengaluru
Amid the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka, another hijab-clad student Lamya Majeed from Karnataka has bagged seven gold medals and two cash prizes in M.Sc Botany at the 102nd convocation of the University of Mysore.
Majeed, a native of Mangalore district is currently working on her master’s thesis in the University of Mysore. She opted to study M.Sc Botany but didn’t have anything specific in her mind. As the years passed and she developed an interest in the subject and wants to engage in research works to help farmers.
Interested in plant pathology and plant disease, Lamya has also applied to go abroad for more research work, especially in the UK. She has also cleared the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).
Speaking to THG, Lamya said, “I’m a very average student and didn’t expect to get this much. But I really like the subject and my dreams are to do research in the field of Life Sciences. I had good company with me who also had similar dreams are like-minded people. We would all support each other and some of my best friends were like good support for me. Particularly, my parents, they’re my greatest support.”
When asked if she faced any obstacles during her journey, the gold medalist said, “I didn’t face any obstacles from my family but some other people have done it. Especially, because I opted for regular science courses, you know, the general Indian mentality of engineering and medicine. So my subject wasn’t something that is kind of not even mainstream, especially in my family. There are not many like the people who have done BSc or MSc, everyone took. And people were like because I couldn’t study engineering, I took botany. It’s not something that was hyped, I would say, not the first choice for many people.”
But the good thing is, Lamya said, the environment in her university was really nice. “They really encouraged research. So, I am someone who wants to get into research, which is why I am doing botany. It was a risky move in a way that you know, most of us are expected to just like go into teaching, or do this thing. I want to continue doing a Ph.D.,”
The 23-year-old topper wants to encourage to people to come in this field because basic sciences and research is something that is a thought like only certain section certain people can do but “it’s obtainable and not out of reach for not general public. An average person can dream of being a scientist or researcher,” she said.
With a percentage of 86 in her Pre University Exam and interest in biology, people expected Lamya to go into medicine. She said, “But that was not where my interest was. I have massive respect for whoever takes medicine but it was not for me.”
“I wasn’t really sure what a gold medal is, who select it or how do they select, nothing. It was actually a shock for me because one of my friends called me early in the morning and asked did you see they released the gold medalists’ names and your name is there several times on the list. I was like, oh my god, it was completely unexpected. My parents are so proud of me,” she told THG, when asked what was her reaction when she first got to know that she bagged 7 gold medals.
Daughter of a retired employee of Bharat petroleum, Lamya has worn hijab all her life, and never faced any problem at all. She said, “I have worn hijab and never faced any problem even now.”
“I really don’t want to comment on this (hijab controversy) although, I’m just upset that it has happened. I don’t really want to say anything I’m just wearing that itself is a statement,” Lamya said she doesn’t want to engage in the hijab dialogue.
Further talking of her future plans, she said, “I want to do PhD and become a research scientist in Plant Sciences. So right now I am in the University of Mysore working in the final year of my master’s thesis. I am currently working on that but in the meantime, I have been writing competitive exams. I’m trying to trying to build a portfolio so I can apply for PhD. I would either study here or even abroad because the opportunities are there in many places. I’m just seeing where I can fit the best.”
Conveying a message to especially young girls, the golden girl from coastal Karnataka said that they should trust themselves. “Girls should believe in their own worth and believe that they are as capable as anyone in their peers.”
When we feel like we are not being provided with the right opportunities, or we are not being taken seriously compared to others then we should take a stand because we are worth just as anyone else,” she adding that when given opportunies, “we can do so much more.”
“I believe everyone deserves the rights and opportunities that should be available to every child, regardless if they’re a boy or girl or trans or whatever they are. I want them to feel like they are deserving of every opportunity, deserving of love. They should feel that way and work towards their goals. They should believe in themselves, no matter who they are, and work towards their dream. If they trust themselves in the long run, no matter what people say, they’ll have themselves.”
source: http://www.thehindustangazette.com / The Hindustan Gazette / Home> News> Education / by Rabia Shireen / March 26th, 2022
Powerlifter Gulshan Banu Kazi has not only made her native Udupi, India proud but also Dubai proud by securing a world record among the master category athletes in the Professional Raw Organisations Push-Pull Championship 2022, a national level event held in Bengaluru recently.
This sporting event held at Onyx Fitness was one of the most popular internationally sanctioned national powerlifting championships, consisting of three main events -Bench Press, Deadlifts and Push-Pull.
Record holder Gulshan Banu Kazi is a 43-year-old mother of three, working six days a week at a corporate office in Dubai.
A native of Udupi, she is from Udupi and an alumnus of St Cecily’s and PPC College here .
She is a competitive Powerlifter. Powerlifting is a form of competitive weightlifting in which the contestants attempt three types of lifts in a set sequence, squat, bench press, and deadlift.
Gulshan started powerlifting training in the year 2019.
The training is tough. She trains at least four times a week for about 90 minutes each time and keeps a watch on her nutrition intake and sleep pattern.
She has been participating in a powerlifting competition in UAE and did well there. One of her latest has been the Pro-League National Championship-2022 where she hit five personal records and registered a World Record in Deadlifts (U82.5kg Masters and Open Category) by pulling 180 kgs. She becomes the first woman of India in her age and her weight category to pull off this deadlift.
Last April, she participated in the WPC National Powerlifting Championship securing four gold medals in Bengaluru. Gulshan Kazi won the Best Lifter Award in the Masters’ category.
Gulshan used to be above 100 kgs till 2016 when she suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Resistance training and tracking her food intake enabled her to start losing weight and gaining muscle. Soon after, she was introduced to powerlifting and has been consistent at it ever since.
She is grateful to Raju Pal, her first coach who introduced her to powerlifting and taught her all the basics.
Now she is training under Mohammad Azmat who is a multiple-time national and international medalist in powerlifting, having won medals for India in different federations. He has been coaching her since 2020.
Gulshan Kazi is looking forward to her representation at World Championships and working hard to make India proud.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Middle East / by Daijiworld Media Network – DRD / March 22nd, 2022
The Thin Edge | Revisiting the restored, resplendent Humayun’s tomb
Humayun’s tomb / File picture
I have visited Humayun’s tomb several times, seeing it transform from its earlier decrepitude to the beautiful, sensitively restored monument-space it is today.
The tomb was one of my favourite old buildings even before the restoration — something about its clean lines, its proportions that manage to effortlessly mix intimacy with graceful grandeur, the restrained colour scheme of red sandstone interrupted by sparely deployed white marble, all of it has always nourished me more than the overwhelming, in-your-face beauty of many other Indian mausoleums and temples.
With the restoration now complete, the tomb itself and the ancillary buildings have also been given a context of green, well-tended gardens, which allow the other venerable monuments on the site — the trees and foliage — their own presence, their own visual Kabuki with the man-made masonry.
Recently, I went to see the tomb again, but this time with architect friends who were visiting the city. Like me, this couple had also visited earlier but they had not seen the finished restoration. Walking around the space with two pairs of somewhat differently-trained eyes was a lesson. Things I’d never noticed were pointed out: the exact alignment between the succeeding gateways; the ‘reveal’ as you cross the final threshold and can actually see the whole structure; and how different it was from what happens at, say, the Taj Mahal.
One of the friends spoke about how the white dome interacts with the sky, glowing sharply in the chiaroscuro of dawn and dusk, almost disappearing in muted top light, coming back into round vividity against dark clouds. Examined minutely were the almost invisible rain channels worked into the stone as well as the slope of the platform to coax away the monsoon water, none of which I’d noticed before. Explained was the way the sandstone slabs were placed with minimum mortar and the fact that they fronted a stuffing of lime and stone rubble.
To the east of the tomb stretched a tumult of trees, almost hiding the nearby gurdwara, with the railway line faint in the distance, while the north side had the view of the attendant water aqueducts and the lines of the water channels that must have inspired Louis Kahn and Luis Barragán in their design of the Salk Institute in California.
The spring morning light changed around us as groups of youngsters pranced up and down the stairs and sashayed across the flagstone, moving in unspoken group-selfie choreography, freezing from time to time without tangible signal into Instagram-mudras. Inside the shadowy central chamber, boisterous groups of young men yelled and blew klaxon whistles, bathing in the amazing acoustics before guards chased them away. On the grounds, on the benches under the quartet of pilkhan trees, a couple sat in chaste-canoodle mode while schoolgirls prowled around politely, looking for victims to interview for their class assignment. The austere beauty of the building, the lush, basant authority of the trees and the celebratory clusters of young people together made a whole that transcended architecture, arbour and holiday ardour.
The friends I accompanied are part of a loose movement of Indian architects drawing notice and accolades because of their alternative approach to building for our times.
This approach is defined by several things; a deep study of local grammar and traditions that inform any new design; a rigorous examination of the environmental impact of any new building, with innovative solutions to cooling and energy consumption becoming central to a project from the very beginning of conceptualization; an aim for genuine, non-grandiose beauty in the final design, all of this entirely subservient to who will use the building and how they will experience it in daily use. This movement is not confined just to India or to the subcontinent. A few days after my friends’ visit, came the welcome news that Diébédo Francis Kéré of Burkina Faso and Germany had won the Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious international recognition for architectural work.
This is not the place to detail Kéré’s work but what is important to note is that the architect has consistently built across some of the most deprived areas of Africa, working with local people, using the simplest local materials in the most inventive ways to produce buildings and projects which pair stunning design with amazing utility. Thus, a local school building may be made from compacted clay, with its ceiling and walls designed to cool the classrooms without any air-conditioning or glass cladding; a lighting scheme in another building may involve embedding into a ceiling traditional pots sliced into half; a Parliament building for Benin may echo a palaver tree under which people traditionally gather for meetings, while a proposed Parliament for Burkina Faso may be in the form of a ziggurat where the assembly is underground below a terraced public park, where the people are literally above the legislators. “I want people to take ownership over the parliament building,” Kéré has said and in that one sentence perhaps lies the core of his philosophy.
A few minutes drive from Humayun’s tomb brings you to the tin-sheet canyons that enclose the biggest heist of urban commons in the history of independent India. Here, at the Central Vista, the most pompously authoritarian, most ecologically damaging, most backward-looking glass and concrete office blocks, the prime minister’s mansion and the fortress-like new Parliament building are being constructed for a huge amount of public money at a time of grim scarcity. This area, for decades one of the few places where even the poorest of the city could walk in greenery, will now become a high-security showpiece for the bloated egos of those in power. In a city full of beautiful mausoleums, these future tombs for those ruling over us today will not stand any test or comparison. But meanwhile, whether in Kutch or Koudougou, in Dakar or Dhaka, human ingenuity, generosity and aesthetic grace will continue to produce architecture that re-affirms life and joy.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / by Ruchir Joshi / March 22nd, 2022
