KARACHI: The two-day third National Youth Chess Championship 2025 organised by the Chess Federation of Pakistan in collaboration with Karpov Chess Club concluded at the Karachi Grammar School on Sunday.

The championship, which was conducted under International Chess Federation rules, served as the official selection tournament for the Pakistani national youth team.

The selected players will represent Pakistan in the upcoming international chess competitions. It attracted top young chess talent from across the country.

A remarkable highlight of the tournament was the outstanding performance of girls from government schools adopted by Zindagi Trust, showcasing the impact of chess education in public schools.

The winners included: Mehak Maqbool — 1st place in the U-18 category (SMB Fatima Jinnah Government School, adopted by Zindagi Trust), Yamna Siddiqui — 2nd place in the U-14 category (Govt SMB Fatima Jinnah School) and Alina Siddiqui — 3rd place in the U-12 category (from the same school).

This achievement was a heartfelt testament to the power of generational change through quality education. It was also profoundly moving to see that Hira, the dedicated chess teacher at the SMB Fatima Jinnah Government School, not only trained these champions, but also once walked the same corridors as a student.

Zindagi Trust has been at the forefront of integrating chess into public education, being the first organisation to develop a structured chess curriculum for Grades 3 to 8.

This curriculum is also available for free on their website to benefit all children across Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2025