أَعُوذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

In the name of ALLAH, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Chess Game Won by Indian Rural Man & Girl

The game of chess originated in India around the 6th century AD, evolving from an early military strategy game known as Chaturanga. It spread along trade routes to Persia, the Islamic world, and eventually Europe, becoming a beloved traditional pastime played across generations in cities and villages globally.

Today, more than 1500 years later, it is played in 172 countries. Chess is one of India’s contribution to world culture, with games played in the court of kings, to those played in villages, and now, is a professional sport. Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a 64-square grid. The objective is to checkmate the opponent's king by trapping it so it cannot escape capture.

Regulated globally by FIDE, the game involves relying purely on tactical and strategic skill. In chess, when the king is trapped with no escape, the game is over. However, what is interesting is how the king’s own pieces can become obstacles to his survival. The paradox is that while a leader (the king) may appear to be the most powerful, he is often dependent on those around him. Chess is not just a game; it is a metaphor for life. Every move, every strategy, and every loss or victory teaches us something profound about our journey in the real world.

Chess is a game of strategy, patience, and foresight — just like life. Chess as a game teaches many lessons for real life, we see similar dynamics — leaders can be limited or even undone by their own team members. It teaches us to value our priorities, recognize our limitations, and make calculated decisions. Whether on the board or in reality, success comes from balance: knowing when to advance, when to retreat, and when to sacrifice for the bigger picture. Understanding these lessons can help us navigate challenges with wisdom and grace, making life a more rewarding journey.

In the following, let's delve into a story which is almost a hundred years old. It carries many lessons for all of us thinking about success in life. The story revolves around two human beings; one man and a girl from Rural Punjab of Indian Sub Continent (now a part of Pakistan) and then there is a person Major General Nawab Sir Malik Mohammed Umar Hayat Khan GBE KCIE MVO (1875–1944), was a soldier of the Indian Empire, one of the largest landholders in the Punjab, and an elected member of the Council of State of India. He was also called Sir Malik Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana.

Sir Malik Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana was born in a Megha, Jhawarian, Punjab as son of Sir Malik Sahib Khan KB CSI, Khan, who belonged to a Rajput family of Khushab (Sargodha), which had been prominent among the landed aristocracy of the Punjab since the 15th century. Malik Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana was educated at Aitchison Chiefs College, Lahore. Khan served in the Somaliland War of 1902-1904, receiving the Jubilee medal. In 1907, moving beyond his career as a soldier, the management of his family estates in the Punjab, and his role as an hereditary Provincial Darbari. Sir Malik Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana had one son, Sir Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana KCSI, OBE (1900–1975), who served as Chief Minister of the Punjab from 1942 until 1947.

Now let's move on to our main story about game of chess where Mir Sultan Khan (1905-1966) won the All-India Chess Championship in 1928. In a small village near Sargodha, Mir Sultan Khan worked as domestic help in the house of Sir Malik Muhammad Umar Hayat Khan (as a Mazara). His responsibilities included running errands and doing odd jobs at the Major General's haveli. In 1928, when Mir Sultan Khan won the All-India Chess Championship; Sir Umar Hayat Khan brought him to England in 1929. Mir Sultan Khan won the All-India Chess Championship with an unbeaten score, launching a legendary career that led him to triumph in the British Chess Championship three times and defeat world-class grandmasters like José Raúl Capablanca.

The Austrian International Master of chess, Hans Kmoch was furious. In an international match, he had asked his opponent three times whether he wanted to concede the game or not, but the opponent would respond to his question with only a smile.

Eventually, Kmoch lost his temper and shouted: “What language does this champion of yours understand?”

“Only the language of Chess!”... And after just a few moves, Kmoch had to offer a draw.

(William Winter, British Chess Champion)

Mir Sultan Khan spent four years in England, and defeated many masters of the game in this relatively short period, before returning to India with his ‘master’, bidding farewell to the game forever. Not only did Mir Sultan Khan not know the English language, he was also unaware of the conventions of international chess (back then, the game was played with different rules in the Indian subcontinent). His poor grasp of the English language meant that he had a hard time learning the international rules of chess, and his opponents say that he never really learnt the chess notation.

Mir Sultan had an intense dislike for UK's weather. During his stay in England, he would usually be caught down with the flu and fever. Whenever he came up to play the game, he would be wearing a big muffler around his neck, and often, he would also be wearing a big Punjabi turban. His successes in international chess largely remain a mystery of sorts. While in the UK, he won the British Chess Championship twice. Grandmasters Alexander Alekhine and Jose Capablanca are widely considered as one of the greatest chess players ever, and both were defeated by Mir Sultan Khan. Despite these brilliant victories, he always remained remarkably humble.

American grandmaster and psychologist, Reuben Fine narrates his meeting with Mir Sultan Khan in his book:

“When we entered the home of Maharaja (Malik Umar Hayat Khan), he welcomed us and said: ‘You’re very lucky that I am meeting you, otherwise I prefer spending this time with my greyhounds.’ He then handed over to us a booklet, covering his life and times. By now, we had ascertained that the only feather in his hat was being born as a Maharaja. Then we saw Mir Sultan Khan, who was our real host, and the Maharaja was treating him as his slave. We were in an odd situation, when a chess grandmaster was in front of us as our waiter.”

Reuben Fine was right. Umar Hayat’s only distinction may have been being born as a Maharaja. But the more important one was introducing Sultan Khan on the international chess arena. Around the same time Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) an English author wrote a Novel "A Passage to India" by E. M. Forster, published in 1924; which explored the political and personal tensions between the British colonizers and the Indian people during the British Raj. We will come to this a little later; as there is also one girl named "Ghulam Fatima" in story, involving Chess, Sir Malik Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana and a Mazara Woman.

The "Maharaja" had scores of servants / maids (men and women). Miss Ghulam Fatima was one of them along with Mir Sultan Khan working inside "Zanan Khana" of the Sir Malik Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana in Sargodha. Mir Sultan Khan learned traditional Indian chess from his father at age nine and became the strongest player in the Punjab region by age 21; he transitioned to European international chess after being taken into the household of Colonel Nawab Malik Sir Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana. The Malik allowed another one of his maids, Ghulam Fatima, participate in the women’s chess games. Fatima played the British Women Chess Championship in 1933 and won it easily. The same year Sultan won the championship in Hastings.

Miss Fatima, was a British-Indian chess master who won the British Women's Chess Championship held at Hastings in 1933 with a dominant score of 10.5/11. She was born in Kalra, Shahpur District (in present-day Pakistan), she traveled to Britain as a member of the household of Sir Umar Hayat Khan. After finishing 6th in her debut at the 1932 championship in London, she secured the national women's title just a year later in 1933. During her time in the UK, she notably met Queen Mary and gave her introductory chess instructions. She returned to India around late 1933 when Sir Umar's household went back, eventually stepping away from the competitive international chess scene.

Ghulam Fatima. Born c. 1912. Rural Punjab, British India; conquered the British Empire's elite chess circle in just 11 games. Miss Fatima was an Indian-British female master who won the British Women's Chess Championship at Hastings in 1933 by a three-point margin, scoring +10 -0 =3 and finishing ahead of four ex-champions. Earlier, she took 12th place at London 1932 (Edith Michell won). She was a friend of maharaja Sir Umar Hayat Khan. The British Men's Champion in 1929, 1932, and 1933 was Mir Sultan Khan, also a servant of Sir Umar Hayat Khan.

An article lists her date of birth as being 1914 and the date of her death as unknown. However, a newspaper article about her winning the British Ladies Championship that appeared in the Western Morning News in August 1933 says she was 21, making her date of birth in 1912. According to the article, at the time Miss Fatima had been described as being in her teens, but in an interview she admitted to 21 years and one month. She appears to have been coached by Vera Menchik.

The article described her as a young Indian woman with faultless features and dressed in Eastern style. At the time she had been living in near London or five years and spoke very little English. She said she learned to play chess only two years prior to winning the Ladies Championship and was expecting to return to India shortly after the the tournament.

Miss Fatima was interviewed about Sultan Khan in the Bandung Limited television production which you can view on Youtube HERE.

The Western World particularly, Europe had struggled to gain freedom as a common man as per the spirit of "Magna Carta" through ot the 17th & 18th century; and by end by 19th century the results started showing as it allowed (Gudri ka laal" لال / گُدڑی کا لعل) "a ruby or precious gem found in a tattered quilt" to rise high fame and positions. Figuratively, it means an exceptional, talented, or worthy person who rises from a very poor, humble, or deprived background. The West opened up the society and respected humans' honour, dignity and freedom and positioned (Gudri ka laal" لال / گُدڑی کا لعل) as a "Jewel of the Crown" in their society.

In the same way United Kingdom in the early 20th century witnessed some landmark feminist movements. In 1927, just a year before the British government granted women the right to vote, London saw another, relatively subdued form of feminist revolution: The Women’s World Chess Championship. By hosting this tournament FIDE formally recognized women’s participation in competitive chess.

As women’s chess kept growing at a leisurely pace in the West, India was far more occupied with their internal political struggle. The tussle for absolute freedom against the British Raj had consumed India to such an extent that an Indian woman representing the country in chess wasn’t in the struggling country’s periphery.

However, one woman did rise to represent her country. A 21-year-old Fatima Ghulam, or also known as Miss Fatima, had set Britain ablaze with her near-perfect (10.5/11) tournament win in the 1933 British Women’s Chess Championship. She won a prize money of 10 Euros for her performance. This result came only in her second year as a competitor playing her first formal competition was the 1932 British Women's Chess Championship in London where she finished at 6th place. Media took keen interest in her and chess took her even to Royal Court. A fact she confirmed during an interview during the the Sultan of Chess broadcast by Channel 4 on 19 September 1990, she mentioned that she met Queen Mary, the wife of George V.

Here's a coverage by Western Mail during her stay in England:

Western Mail - Saturday 12 August 1933] "NEW WOMAN CHESS CHAMPION - Indian Who Likes Game “Even Better Than Dancing” - Miss Fatima, a young Indian woman, looking little more than a girl and dressed in Eastern style, won the British women’s chess championship at Hastings. Her eleven opponents were mostly of many years’ experience, and included four former champions. Source: BritBase Chess: 26th British Championship 1933, Hastings Chess Club

https://johnchess.blogspot.com/2016/02/miss-fatima-1933-british-womens-chess.html

The Game of Chess was introduced in India and not long ago it was played commonly in public squares, tea stalls, and village courtyards as a social activity. Mostly the game of chess has been a "traditional learning" activity, where it was passed down informally from older family members to youth. The above story involving Maharaja Sir Malik Mohammed Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana, British Chess Champions Mir Sultan Khan and Miss Ghulam Fatima may be astonishing for readers but a hundred years ago it was not at all a matter of concerns (even not today). As the saying goes "Familiarity breeds contempt" ("ghar ki murgi daal barabar") the sports and games are not considered worth an achievement if attained by an ordinary human. Both Mir Sultan Khan and Miss Ghulam Fatima were the servants / maids (Mazara) of the Maharaja.

The Novel *A Passage to India* By E.M. Forster has picturazied two distinct cultures prevalent in UK and India. In the society represented by two Indian British Chess Champions, now in Pakistan the real appreciation come from the idiom "جسکی لاٹھی اسکی بھینس" / "Might is Right". Even today, people of power achieved through money and political clout are respected.

The extraordinary lives of Mir Sultan Khan and Miss Ghulam Fatima, who served in the household of Nawab Sir Umar Hayat Khan and triumphed at the highest levels of British chess without formal theoretical training or literacy in European notation, vividly demonstrate that raw intellectual brilliance transcends rigid pedagogical bounds. They dominated a Eurocentric, elite sport as low-status servants, proving that your background never defines your cognitive potential. They competed under intense social isolation, cultural shock, and language barriers, yet remained hyper-focused on their goals.

Mir Sultan Khan learned traditional Indian chess as a child and became a master of the board through intuition. Miss Fatima had even less of learning opportunity and she exhibited brilliance. This story inspires, all generations to come, by proving that passion, unconventional thinking, and self-belief can dismantle any barrier to success. The importance is on relaying deep intuition and creative problem-solving rather than memorizing standard formulas or academic textbooks. One does not need expensive coaches, elite universities, or costly courses to achieve world-class mastery.

We in the third world or global south are still lagging behind in valuing our (Gudri ka laal" لال / گُدڑی کا لعل) and provision of respect to fellow human beings for their achievement without money and power. We must learn to respect honour, dignity and freedom for all human beings irrespective of their cast, creed, colour, language, and religion. The fields of life shall be open to all humans to showcase their talents and inherent, intuitive abilities and skills and then take pride in any (Gudri ka laal" لال / گُدڑی کا لعل) to position of "Jewel in the Crown.

NOTE: This article has been arranged with the help of material available freely on many online webnet sources.