CHENNAI: Following in the footsteps of Chennai’s Grand Masters D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa is young, talented and upcoming chess player Devanarayanan Kalliyath from Kerala who was in his element at the 37th National U-7 chess championship held at Mysuru.
Devanarayanan scored a perfect 9/9 to win the National Under-7 Open championship in style. He finished a full point ahead of the field. Prayank Gaonkar (Goa) scored sole 8/9 to finish second while Aaradhyo Guin (WB) edged past two more players on tie-breaks to secure third place scoring 7.5/9. Devanarayanan, a class 3 student of GHSS School. Mezhathur, Palakkad, will represent the country in the upcoming U-8 Asian and World Chess Championships, as well as the Commonwealth Tournament next year.
Devanarayanan developed an interest in chess after seeing his elder brother Mahadevan Kalliyath , a member of the Kerala state sub-junior chess team, play chess. “He started playing when he was around five-years-old. During the Covid-19 pandemic he first showed interest in the game after watching his brother play online.
He first showed signs of his talent when he won the State (Kerala) championship in the U-6 category,” said Savanadev, Devanarayanan’s father. “His enthusiasm and ability to grasp things revealed his inherent talent. So we decided to find a coach and his current coach is Vishnu Dutt at Akshara Chess Academy and Sandeep Santosh also trains him,” he added.
As for the win in Mysuru, Devanarayanan is thrilled and believes that this victory will propel him to excel in the game. “It was a great feeling to win the national U-7 championship. To get a score of 9/9 was all the more pleasing. However, the toughest match for me was against Takkshanth Anand in the seventh round. The tournament was a good learning experience for me,” said Devanarayanan.
The youngster is being well supported by the Chess Association of Kerala. He impressed everyone by drawing with Cuban International Master Rodney Oscar Perez Garcia at the Che International Chess Festival 2023. Devanarayanan intends to play a maximum number of FIDE tournaments and U-9 nationals in order to prepare for the Asian and World meet. Savanadev insists that his son is keen to improve his game and thus for exposure he has ensured that his ward gets to play in as many tournaments as possible.
“I am keen to play as many FIDE tournaments as possible and the U-9 nationals to hone my game for the global meets. Good exposure will help me to improve my game. My strength as a player is the ability to calculate the many pre-moves in a position. And I am also keen to improve my end game,” said Devanarayanan.
Chennai is the Mecca of chess and has extensive coaching and training facilities from reputed coaches and Grand Masters. Does he plan to move to Chennai in order to improve his game? “I have not yet decided to move to Chennai. I also enjoy playing cricket. My ambition is to become world champion in the U-8 category. My role model is Magnus Carlsen,” he signed off.