Four new chess arbiters have emerged from Jharkhand with Soukhin Pramanick (Dhanbad) and Priyanka Kumari (Dumka) as the first women to be certified senior national arbiters.

Soukhin Pramanick

The two, along with Vikram Kumar (Seraikela-Kharsawan)and Dhanbad’s Binod Kumar Saw, cleared the senior national arbiter examination conducted on a digital platform by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) on April 24 and 25.

The four join Jayant Kumar Bhuyan (international arbiter), Vishal Kumar Minz, Chandan Kumar Prasad (all from East Singhbhum), Deepak Kumar (Ranchi), Prabhat Ranjan Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Mishra (both from Dhanbad) and Prabhu Nath Sah (Hazaribag) as arbiters.

Binod Kumar Saw

Expressing its satisfaction at the development, All Jharkhand Chess Association (AJCA) secretary Neeraj Kumar Mishra, an International Master, said it was good that women from the state were also becoming arbiters. “We are hopeful more women will be added to the list. We congratulate the arbiters who cleared the examination,” he added.

Vikram Kumar

With chess having a solid footing in Jharkhand, more candidates are set to clear the national arbiter examination. A wide section of players from the state have proved their mettle in national competitions and have a good understanding of the game. Some of these players would like to become arbiters and conduct tournaments in future.