On World Chess Day, Pakistan celebrates tenfold rise in FIDE-ranked players
From 500 to 5,000 internationally ranked players, Pakistan’s chess scene sees unprecedented growth
By Mushfiq Ahmed
KARACHI, Pakistan (MNTV) — The number of Pakistani players holding FIDE (International Chess Federation) rankings has skyrocketed over the past three years, rising from just 500 to nearly 5,000, according to Hanif Qureshi, President of Chess Federation Pakistan.
Speaking to MNTV on the eve of World Chess Day, celebrated on July 20, Qureshi credited the surge to consistent international exposure. “We’ve been organizing an average of 10 international events annually for the past three years,” he said.
Qureshi estimated that between 6 to 12 million people in Pakistan play chess, adding that the Federation now plans to bid for hosting rights of the 2030 World Chess Olympiad.
“If Pakistan wins the bid, we’ll welcome players from over 200 countries. It would be the largest international sporting event ever hosted by Pakistan in terms of participating nations,” he said.
Highlighting recent accomplishments, Qureshi noted that Pakistani player Ayat Asmi won a bronze medal in Aktau, Kazakhstan, in 2023. “Ayat, our national under-14 champion, earned the title of Candidate Master in Budapest in 2024. Momin Fayzan also achieved the same title there,” he said.
Pakistan also clinched a team bronze medal during the same period.
Qureshi, who also serves as an advisor to the Asian Chess Federation’s Sheikh Sultan, said the Federation recently launched what he described as the world’s largest chess education program under the Prime Minister’s National Mind Sports Initiatives.
To mark World Chess Day, the Federation is organizing events across the country.
“We held an event today in Islamabad in collaboration with the Embassy of Portugal,” Qureshi said. “More celebrations are scheduled in Karachi and Lahore on Sunday, July 20.”
He also announced that Pakistan’s national schools team will participate in the World School Championship in Washington D.C., departing on August 2.
Pakistan recently added to its chess legacy when FIDE awarded the first-ever Honorary Grandmaster title posthumously to legendary early 20th‑century player Mian Sultan Khan.
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