THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: International Master Goutham Krishna H continues to make waves. His latest exploit: national sub-junior title. The 15-year-old from Thiruvananthapuram was crowned champion in the 50th National Sub-Junior (Open) Chess Championship held recently in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
With the win, Goutham has qualified to represent India in the FIDE World Youth (Under 16) Chess Championship to be held in Italy next year.
“Goutham showcased remarkable consistency, focus, and fighting spirit throughout the event. He emerged the national champion with an impressive score of 9.5 out of 11 points,” said Sreejith G S, Goutham’s coach and FIDE-certified instructor.
Goutham, who earned a cash prize of Rs 90,000 and a trophy at the event held from November 2 to 10, is a Class X student of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kodunganoor.
This is the second major achievement by the chess prodigy in a month’s span. In October, the teenager had emerged as the first runner-up in the 62nd National Senior Chess Championship in Andhra Pradesh. He had competed with 21 chess players ranked above him to clinch the second spot. On round nine of the event, Goutham had defeated Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta, a five-time champion at the Commonwealth and national levels.
In 2022, Goutham was crowned national champion in the Under-12 category. He currently has an International Chess Federation – commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE – rating of 2425 and a GM norm under his belt. Two more GM norms and a rating above 2,500 would earn Goutham the title of Grandmaster.
In May, Goutham was in supreme form at the third International Chess Tournament in Kuwait. The prestigious event involved 329 players from across the globe, including 30 GMs. Despite being seeded 30th, Goutham demonstrated remarkable poise and panache, securing second place and a cheque for 9,000 US dollars.