As Omicron spreads across the country and beyond, to top off another year of doom and gloom, two young home-grown talents are reminding us that there is more to life than this. Poly Khatun and Mim Akhter, two kids from Mirpur, underprivileged and uninitiated in the art of chess playing even a couple of months ago, have done the unimaginable: they have defeated internationally rated chess players as part of a local tournament held recently. This is a story of how our children can do wonders if nurtured properly. It gives us hope at a time when hopes are in woefully short supply.

According to a report by this daily, it all started when a local organisation named Agami Education Foundation launched a programme to teach chess to underprivileged school children in Dhaka's Mirpur and Mohammadpur areas. The objective was simple: help them explore their potential. Funds were raised, professional chess players were roped in to help with the training, and parents were encouraged to send their children. Classes began in October 2021, with mostly female students. Soon, many of them started to show their talents. And then, with less than three months' training, Poly and Mim, aged around 12 and 15 years, respectively, defeated two International Chess Federation (FIDE) rated players in tournaments held between December 29, 2021 and January 8, 2022.

Such stories of joy and triumph and simple pleasures of life are what we need at this critical juncture. Extracurricular activities such as sports and debate have a transformative role to play in the lives of students. And at a time when our students are still reeling from the long Covid-19-enforced closures, trying to claw their way back to pre-pandemic routines, it is all the more important that they don't lose sight of the bigger picture: that it takes more than classrooms and guided notes to realise one's potential. Our children are immensely talented. And to be the future leaders that we need them to be, it is important that they get all the help they need in their pursuits through creative and fun activities.