VISAKHAPATNAM: Child prodigy from Vizag Alana Meenakshi became the world top 2 in Under 10 girls chess as per the FIDE ratings which were announced on Monday. She achieved the milestone with an Elo rating of 1829. Incidentally, Alana was the only player from India figured among 10 top rankings in the U-10 girls’ chess category.
Aparna Dhruv, the mother of Alana, told TNIE that Alana was now qualified to play against higher-rated players. She is two titles away to become IM (international master). Her immediate goal will be FM (Fide master) which will be given if she could get an Elo rating of 2400. Alana will be in pursuit of this and has been making efforts to reach the goal, she said.
Alana started playing international chess when she was 7-year-old in 2018. She won gold in Asian schools U-7 championship. Earlier, she won gold in the Indian nationals U-10 girls championship conducted by AICF (All India Chess Federation) in July. She emerged as the winner among 334 girls who took part in the event.