Checkmate: When there is more to the story than game of 'Chess'

By Gulzar Ahmad & Rajat Tripathi

In a warm afternoon at Central Park in Connaught Place, New Delhi, a group of people gather around a man with snowy hair and eyes.

Fifty-eight-year-old Abdul Samad Nawabi, or "Chess chacha" as he is affectionately called, left his native town in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, and came to Delhi over three years ago.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

He has become a well-known face for the people who visit Palika Bazar in central Delhi. Abdul Samad reaches Connaught Place every morning around 11am and sets his chess board. In a matter of minutes, a crowd of chess enthusiasts - most of whom is known to Samad - gathers at the spot.

Palika Bazar is a busy spot of New Delhi, where a major metro station exists and a large number of people visit the city's beautiful park. Samad travels from his residence in Ashram to Palika Bazaar. He carries three chessboards in a black box and attracts his fans whenever he arrives at this market place.

After travelling to and fro between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Samad arrived in India in 2014. Since his arrival in India, he has been living in a rented room in Ashram and has been playing chess across Delhi. He picked up chess while in college and the chequerboard has been his companion ever since.

From the fall of pro-Soviet 'Democratic Republic of Afghanistan' (DRA) and the rise of Mujahideen rule in Afghanistan in 1989, Samad fled with some of his family members to Pakistan. Samad's sons are in Afghanistan, whereas his daughter, sister and mother are now in the US. He claims he spent three years, from 1985-88, in a jail in Afghanistan, where he even played chess with the jailor.

Deepak Pokhrial, an advertising professional and a chess enthusiast, make it a point to visit Palika Bazar whenever he gets time. The regular game of chess in Palika Bazar has brought fame to Samad and a long list of friends. The spectators are always welcome to challenge him. He has some regular opponents too, who sometimes come for multiple bouts of the game during the course of the day. Before Palika Bazar, Samad used to play chess near Jama Masjid in Old Delhi and in Malviya Nagar. But now he visits Palika Bazar only.

A number of print and online media outlets in India last week published reports about Samad describing the Afghan man as "Chacha (uncle) of Love".

His personality and a sharp understanding of the game attracts hundreds of people who watch, and even join him.

The huge gathering of people every day soon caught the attention of Delhi Police and this has become a problem for Samad. He says the police doesn't want him to play chess with such huge gathering. The crowd in Palika Bazar can create problems, mainly traffic jams, pickpocketing and sometimes brawls too, the cops say. Samad is now forced to play chess only when there is no gathering of people. He is even planning to move to Hauz Khas or India Gate.

He misses the throng of spectators now, be it Indians or foreigners.

This year in May, his refugee card expires. If he does not get permission to stay on in India, he will have to return to Afghanistan.