CHENNAI: Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik in a chat with this daily, earlier this year, insisted that India will be the next global superpower in chess not because of the number of Grandmasters it has, but because of its talent pool.
The Russian, who has the distinction of beating the great Garry Kasparov in a world championship, was moved by the ability of children who hail from humble backgrounds, to take up chess and make a mark in it.
The latest talent in town is AS Sharvaanica who won the national Under-7 girls title at Gujarat. She also won the Under-7 national school chess championship held at Odisha. Hailing from Udayarpalayam, a small town in the Ariyalur district, she has a good understanding of the game and wants to make a mark despite all odds.
Her father P Saravanan is a weaver by profession and her mother P Anburoja is a housewife. “My daughter has a flair for chess. She began playing when she was three-and-a-half years old and seeing her enthusiasm and ability to grasp, we wanted to help her in pursuing a career in chess,’’ said Anburoja.
A student of class 2 in Panchayat Union Primary school (West) Udayarpalayam, Shravaanica came up with a splendid show in the national Under-7 championship by scoring 11/11 victories in the meet.
“I am very happy to win the national Under-7 crown. My score of 11/11 is a new record and I am very satisfied with my performance. I was also pleased to win the Under-7 national school championship in Odisha. I also won the Tamil Nadu state Under-7 championship. I also came runner-up in both the state Under-8 and Under-9 championships. All these performances have helped me get selected for the Asian Under-7 school championship to be held in Sri Lanka,” she said.
Her elder sister AS Ratshikaa, who is also a chess player, trains at the Hatsun Chess Academy in Thiruthangal. “In the beginning, I trained with Sasikumar sir at Ariyalur. Now, GM Vishnu Prasanna sir and Ganesh sir from Hatsun Chess Academy (Thiruthangal) guide me. I train under them. I also work with Uma Maheshwaran sir and SS Manikandan sir,” she informed.
Sharvaanica chose chess because of the uniqueness of the sport. She is earnest in her preparations. “Before the national events, I practised tactics, puzzles, games, and watched chess videos. I worked almost 10 hours a day. I derive strength from God, my coaches, my parents, my sister and well-wishers,” she revealed. “I am trying to improve in blindfold chess. I never use chess engines and I love to play online chess,” she added.
The talented player loves to travel and visited the recently held Chess Olympiad in Chennai. She has ambitions too and wants to be a world champion one day. “Mikhail Tal and Viswanathan Anand are my idols. I was at the chess
Olympiad was held in Chennai and I also beat the Botswana secretary in a friendly match there. My ambition is to be a world champion one day. My goal is to be the youngest Grandmaster in the world. I am able to balance studies and chess well,” she signed off.