Ghanem returns to chess after 10 years via Olympiad

CHENNAI: Qatar’s Open team player Ghanem Al-Sulaiti could not have asked for a better tournament to make his competitive chess comeback.

Through the ongoing 44th Olympiad at Mahabalipuram, Ghanem, a FIDE Master, has returned to the board game that he had left 10 years ago. He had given up on chess to prioritise academics but now that he has settled in life, Ghanem has come back to ‘64 squares’, which he is still passionate about.

“Basically, 12 years ago, I decided to focus on my studies. I completed my Master’s degree in management at University College London. I then did my PhD in engineering (focussed on digital platforms) at the University of Cambridge. After I finished my studies and got a job, I felt that I still had the skills to make a comeback,” Ghanem, who had stopped training in 2010 but represented his country at the 2012 Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.

“During the [decade-long] break, I was in touch with many chess players through social media. I played online occasionally. Fortunately, the Qatar Chess Federation offered me the opportunity to play [at the Olympiad] in India. It was a challenge at the start [of the tournament], but I am getting my mojo back,” added Ghanem, a scientist at the Qatar Computing Research Institute.

Ghanem emphasised that he returned to chess to enjoy the “special feeling” of playing in tournaments. “You wake up.. you figure out who you are playing against.. you start preparing.. you go to the game, start it and try to beat your opponent. It is the whole experience. To some extent, I missed it while I was away from chess. I thought that it would be wise to come back and live this experience again,” explained Ghanem, who made his Olympiad debut way back in 2002 and is appearing for the fourth time at the prestigious event.

Ghanem’s Instagram bio has ‘Football Fan’ in it, so we could not end our chat without touching upon the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar. “So far, I have booked tickets for the opening match (referring to Qatar vs Ecuador on November 21) and the final. Irrespective of which teams reach the final, I am planning to go for it,” Ghanem has his plans sorted.