Chennai, May 24 (IANS): The Chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) Shrikant Madhav Vaidya and several others, including a chess Grandmaster, a prison official, and former prisoners from different countries, will speak at the 'Chess for Freedom' conference to be held in Pune next month, said FIDE, the international chess federation.

The event aims to explore the transformative power of chess as a rehabilitation tool in correctional facilities worldwide, FIDE said.

FIDE in collaboration with IOC is organising the conference in Pune from June 19-21, to be hosted by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and the Maharashtra Chess Association.

Vaidya will speak on the ‘Chess for Freedom' project in India.

The Indian Oil under its `Parivartan-Prison to Pride’ initiative facilitates training programmes to jail inmates in various sports like chess, basketball, badminton, volleyball and carom in various Indian prisons.

The initiative aims to help and improve the physical and mental wellness of prison inmates.

Interestingly, last year, the youth chess team from the Pune prison won the title at the Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners organised by FIDE and the Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff’s Office.

According to FIDE, on the first day of the conference, the participants will visit the local Yerawada prison, play chess with the inmates, and listen to a presentation by the prison authorities.

Some of the topics to be discussed at the conference include supporting talents in prisons; chess puzzles in prisons, and their relevance to life outside; personal stories from former inmates; steps to implement Chess for Freedom in prisons, etc.