Life imitates chess: 11-yr-old Fahim Mohammad's heroic struggle

by Dhananjay Khadilkar Paris: Fahim Mohammad aims to be a Grandmaster some day. That’s not surprising considering every chess prodigy wants to achieve this ultimate distinction. However, Fahim’s aspirations aren’t ordinary. For, they come from a 11-year-old Bangladeshi kid whose tumultous experiences over the past four years would make even the most hardened mind shudder. I met Fahim and his chess trainer-cum-mentor Xavier Parmentier at a café in front of the Gare de Lyon station in Paris. The two had just returned after participating in the French club championship in Lyon. Fahim had performed reasonably well, helping his club claim third place. At the café though Fahim looked a bit grumpy. ‘‘We had a bit of fight. I keep telling him that he should work harder if he wants to succeed in chess,’’ explained Parmentier who is a trainer of repute in France with a coaching experience of 27 years. Parmentier, in his playing days was a FIDE Master, played (and lost) one game against Viswanathan Anand in a 1988 tournament in France. ‘‘God often does strange things,’’ is how Parmentier describes his association with Fahim and his father. ‘‘It was February 2009. I was giving lessons in the chess club at Creteil (on the outskirts of Paris) when this eight-year-old boy and his father, Nura, turned up at the door. At that time, I had no idea about Fahim or his background. Since I am only interested in alphabets from A to H and numbers from 1 to 8 (the 64 squares of a chess board are represented by a combination of the first eight letters and first eight numbers), I asked him to solve a problem, which he did without any difficulty. I realised that this kid had special talent.’’ However, Parmentier wasn’t prepared for what came next… the extraordinary story of the father-son duo. The two had managed to reach the shores of Europe in 2008 after escaping political troubles in Bangladesh. They first reached Hungary before making their way to France. They reached Creteil, a town on the outskirts of Paris. Though they had reached Paris, their struggle was far from over. [caption id=“attachment_327468” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=" In 2010, Fahim won the Paris Open ‘B’ championship, a tournament consisting of players in the range of 1500 to 1900 ELO ratings. Image courtesy: Dhananjay Khadilkar"]  [/caption] “They had applied for asylum in France. However, their request was rejected in 2010,’’ says Parmentier who started giving free chess lessons to Fahim besides providing food and monetary help. Fahim also got enrolled in a school. ‘‘Since he didn’t possess papers, Nura couldn’t take up any work. They had to seek temporary shelter in community immigrant buildings for a year, after which they got evicted.’’ While all this was going on, Fahim kept showing his prowess on the chess board. In 2010, aged just nine, he won the Paris Open ‘B’ championship, a tournament consisting of players in the range of 1500 to 1900 ELO ratings, the largest group of chess players. He later participated in a tournament held in the province of Brittany, where he defeated an International Master in the first round. However, following their eviction, Nura and Fahim were staring at a bleak future. For two months in July and August 2011, they slept in the chess club at Creteil. ‘‘However, this couldn’t go on forever and at the end of August, they were literally on the streets, and had no other option but to sleep in a roadside tent near a lake in Creteil,’’ Parmentier said. Thankfully, on hearing the plight of the 10-year-old boy, the parents of one of his classmates from the chess club offered Fahim a place to sleep in their house. His father though continued to live in the tent. ‘‘By the end of September, the temperature started dropping. With the impending onset of winter, it was impossible for Nura to keep living in that tent,’’ explained Parmentier. It was at this time that Nura decided to leave France. ‘‘On hearing this news, Fahim was inconsolable. He pleaded with his father to stay back,’’ Parmentier recalled. And just when it seemed there was no hope, ‘‘God again did a strange thing. Almost at the same time, another family offered a place to Nura in Paris. It came as a blessing.’’ Despite the duress, Fahim performed brilliantly in school. Although they were staying in different places, quite far from each other, father and son would meet each other daily. ‘‘Nura used to come from Paris to the chess club at Creteil. There they would cook food and eat together after which he would return to Paris,’’ Parmentier said. Parmentier knew that Fahim’s moment of reckoning would come in April 2012. For, the French National championship was to be held in Nimes that month, with Fahim participating in the Under-12 category. ‘‘Fahim had participated the year earlier. However, due to lack of experience and the tremendous hardship he had to undergo, he couldn’t do well. This time though I told Fahim that it was important for him to win the championship as it could mark the beginning of a new life for him.’’ And that’s exactly what it did. Fahim became the U-12 French champion, scoring 8 points in 9 rounds, with seven wins and two draws. Parmentier posted the story of Fahim on his facebook account and within hours it went viral. Soon, prominent French media highlighted the extraordinary story of Fahim. The media attention ensured that Parmentier was not just a chess trainer. ‘‘In no time, I had become a press attache as well,’’ he said with a smile. The happiest moment for Fahim and his father came on 4 May, just two days before the French presidential elections. In a radio programme featuring the then Prime Minister Francois Fillon, a listener posed a question about Fahim, to which the prime minister said that his case deserves a review. ‘‘Fahim couldn’t believe it. His first reaction was ‘‘Le premier ministre de France a parler de moi ?’’ (The french prime minister talking about me ?), Parmentier recalled. Finally, on 11 May,  Fahim and Nura received the papers that enabled them to stay in France. Nura also got a job in a school canteen and a place to stay. ‘‘The moment I heard this news I started crying. I was ecstatic as well as relieved,’’ Parmentier said. ‘‘Fahim will be able to participate in the European youth chess championship to be held in Prague in August 2012.’’ About Fahim’s prospects in chess, Parmentier believes that Fahim shouldn’t relax and that he should study chess even harder in order to succeed. ‘‘He has overcome difficult circumstances. His destiny is now in his hands,’’ Parmentier said. Just for the record, even though he comes from India’s neighbouring country, Fahim is not a big fan of Viswanathan Anand. Fahim, who played couple of tournaments in Kolkata, instead idolises former world champion Alexander Alekhine. And of the current lot, Magnus Carlsen is his favourite.