Page 135 - DAIS Insignia 2020-21

CHESS CRICKET The online sessions from 3 to 4 on Tuesdays and Thursdays with Hariom sir and Prashant sir has
helped me a lot in improving my skills and has given me more knowledge about the game of
cricket. Due to these unfortunate and unprecedented times, we cannot practice on the school
Indian 'A' Team won Asian Under 14 ground, but these online sessions have been extremely useful in ensuring that we do not stop learning. Various theory
Online Team Chess Championship aspects are covered within the fields of batting and bowling. In batting we discuss what an ideal stance should be, the grip
GOLD MEDAL on the bat, the multiple kinds of shots, front foot and back foot defence, how to drive the ball etc. In bowling we covered
the grip on the ball, the bowling action, the loading arm, several drills to improve the flow of the action, and how to
We are super proud to announce that improve upon pace. For spinners we also discussed how to bowl with more rotations on the ball such that it spins more
our very own DAIS students IM Raahil and some variations like googlies for leg spinners.
Mullick and CM Dev Shah of Class 8,
Other than practicing the fundamentals of cricket, we also discussed game strategies for test matches like India versus
represented team India that participated
in the ASIAN NATIONS (UNDER 14) Australia and the IPL. These strategies include how a batsman and a bowler should approach the different formats of the
game like T20's, and which players should play in the team to make it stronger. This also included things like the
ONLINE TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP
conditions of the pitch, something I found interesting as I had not known about it before. To enhance our bowling we also
which was organized by the Sri Lankan analysed successful bowlers and their variations, something that we can practice and develop too to get better. Overall, I
chess federation from 27th to 29th
really enjoy these sessions and they teach me a lot about cricket.
March 2021. The Asian Chess Federation
conducted the event through the Rishi Mody
Chess.com. platform.
Team India 'A' clinched the Asian Under
14 Online Team Chess Championship IM Raahil Mullick CM Dev Shah
GOLD MEDAL amongst the 32 Asian
This year has been like no other, it has challenged our perception of normalcy, compelled us to adapt to
Teams that participated in the event.
changes, whether or not we were prepared for it and has in many ways accelerated our growth into the
Indian ‘A’ Team consisted of: world of technology.
IM Raahil Mullick - DAIS • CM Dev Shah - DAIS • IM Bharath Subramanium • CM Shahil Dey • Sohardo Basak
The pandemic has exposed us to a world of 'new normal'. Overnight, our classrooms changed to virtual
They registered 7 wins ,1 draw and 1 loss in this 7 round Swiss system tournament to occupy the pole position with 15 match points . rooms, our blackboards changed to online white boards, and our desk partners became small boxes on a
screen. We had to learn how to study differently, participate differently, make friendships differently and
most importantly, play cricket differently. In an ideal pre-COVID-19 world, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Fridays were the favorite days for the entire cricket team, because on these days we were able to practice
our favourite sport for hours and truly enjoy ourselves.
Cavas Sir and Hari sir left no stone unturned to make us feel like nothing had changed with respect to our
training and the emptiness we felt was filled when Hari sir informed us that our training would commence
online with new methods and styles. I remember profoundly how all of us were overjoyed and excitedly looked forward to being able to practice again.
Under Prashant Sirs guidance we began our journey of online cricket practices, where we focused on the strategic side of the game. We began
analysing matches, teams and understanding the different strategies that they implement. We not only enjoyed ourselves thoroughly while learning
and analysing different field settings but we also began working with Prashant sir on our basics through different drills. These drills focused on
strengthening the base of our game which would help us when we stepped back onto the field. Each and every one of us from the team left each
session with more knowledge. While we spent time on learning and correcting our form these sessions also added to our daily physical wellbeing and
helped with being active and balancing our daily routines. It was the closest we could have gotten to playing on a real field and gave us a deep sense of
satisfaction. These sessions have not only added value to our training but it re-instilled our team spirit as the whole team was reunited. As usual, we
realized how important these training sessions have been for us as a team together.
It would be unfair to
Chess Team DAIS Clinches the c o n c l u d e w i t h o u t
Semi-final Berth at the World expressing our most
Online School Chess Tournament sincere gratitude to our
coaches, Cavas Sir, Hari
Congratulations Team DAIS for
qualifying to participate in the Semi- Sir, and Prashant Sir for
Finals at the World Online School their continued efforts to
Chess Tournament Expo Dubai 2020. ensure our training does
Our school Chess Team played not suffer and to keep
brilliantly at the pre-qualifier and our morale high during
qualifier stages and have now made it these unprecedented
to the top 30 chess teams in the times. When we shifted
world. The tournament started in to virtual schooling, all I
December 2020, with 296 teams from could think of was the
across the world and also includes grass is only greener on
chess academies and chess schools. the other side- the pre
The Spanish Pavilion at the Universal COVID side, but after a
Expo Dubai 2021 organized this large whole year, I can proudly
online chess tournament to promote say, the grass is greener
chess in schools. where you water it, and
in our case, our teachers
The DAIS team members are: have made this possible.
Dev Shah, Raahil Malik, Aditya Harshvardhaan Jhaveri
Ramanathan, Aditya Patil, Rounaiv Rana, Ruhaan Mahindru, Siddhanth Lohia, Suhaani Lohia and Vansh Agarwal.
Over all these years the unflinching support the school has provided, and will continue to extend in the future, encourages all our students to pursue
their passion and excel in sports. We are glad that our school Chess Team is making DAIS proud by excelling on the world stage, in the
first global 'team' chess tournament for schools. Special thanks to our school chess coach Mr. Salil Ghate for entering our team for this
prestigious event, coordinating the matches with the organisers and encouraging our students to perform at their optimum levels.
129 130