Crowded around a white table, numerous spectators watch in awe as Sanmita Hosur ‘28 makes moves on a silicone chess board. Pieces fly across the board in a frenzy as Sanmita and her opponent play rapidly as the clock runs down. The game ends in a victory, with Sanmita feeling triumphant. However, she is not the victor; rather, it’s an elementary school-aged child with cerebral palsy who is incapable of physically making moves, yet still deeply passionate about chess.

The Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) hosted a chess tournament for elementary and middle school children on Saturday, March 29 at Hopewell Middle School. The tournament drew excited students from across the district. Yet, for one elementary schooler who has chosen to remain anonymous, their passion met a roadblock. Due to their cerebral palsy, they weren’t able to manipulate pieces with their hands, annotate moves on the board, or even touch the chess clock they were required to use. However, in this moment of difficulty, Westwood Chess Club member Sanmita volunteered to step in and help.

“[I found out about the child] through [our] chess club,” Sanmita said. “Our [club] president sent out an email asking us if we wanted to help this child and I said yes. [I helped by] moving the [pieces] and then I would write down [their] moves using algebraic notation. Sometimes they would need to bring in a clock and so I would also hit the clock for [them].”

Sanmita’s decision was motivated by her deep infatuation with chess and a desire to help as many people as possible manifest their chess-playing dreams. Her love for chess combined with her desire to spread the game led her to help the child.

“I’ve always just been a person that wants to help other people. [It] brings me a lot of joy and that’s the main reason why I wanted to [help out],” Sanmita said. “I wanted to [do this] for the child. I just sat there and thought [about] what [would happen] if no one came to help them, [and] what [would happen] if [they were] all alone. I wanted to help them have fun in chess.”

Ever since being introduced to chess in preschool, Sanmita knew that chess would become a core part of her life. Her first tournament in the first grade gave her a taste of competitive chess, amplifying her interest, and she hasn’t looked back since. Sanmita believes that volunteer opportunities like this help her share her love of the game to as many people as possible.

“My favorite thing about chess is that it requires a lot of patience and it requires a lot of thinking,” Sanmita said. “You can’t just be rash with your moves, and I think that that’s something that I want to share with everybody. Just take your time, think about things and plan ahead. That’s something chess has taught me and I want to share it with others.”

In addition to her avid passion for the game, Sanmita is a strong advocate for those who wish to indulge in the same experiences, but are unable to do so. She strongly believes chess is for everybody, and that regardless of any handicaps, chess is structured in a way such that anyone can play it. Its strong accessibility to all individuals has spurred its popularity in recent years – chess is immune to societal or physical standards placed on traditional sports athletes.

“More people should play chess because chess is a game for everybody,” Sanmita said. “It has different time controls. If you [want to] play slow, you can play slow. If you [want to] play fast, you can play fast and it’s not boring at all. You get really invested once you start. Once you just start, you’ll get immersed in this world.”

In the future, Sanmita aims to work with other children interested in chess to spread her joy for the activity. Her strong dedication to both playing and teaching chess has motivated her to seek out other opportunities helping others.

“More than playing chess, I love teaching chess,” Sanmita said. “Hopefully in the future I can help other people learn chess and become good at chess, because what I’ve observed is that [inexperienced players] – they know the rules and everything, but [other people] like their coaches don’t really tell them [exactly how to carry that out] because theory is different than practice.”

However, at the end of the day for Sanmita, nothing mattered more than the happiness the child felt after being able to truly express their passion and joy for the game.

“[They were] just so happy and so excited. I was so happy that I was able to make that happen,” Sanmita said. “I’m guessing if I hadn’t been there, I don’t think they would’ve achieved the same level of happiness [they had] playing this game.”