KOZHIKODE: Arjun K made the right move when he decided to pick up his first chess piece at nine years of age. Just another past-time, though it looked at the outset, it later turned out to be a well-measured one. And now, with a handful of silverware in his hand, Arjun, ranked 2056 at the Fide rating, has made his family and friends equally proud.
A second semester Malayalam student at Zamorin’s Guruvayurappan College, Arjun is the current champion of the Entire India Fide-rated chess tournament held in Vadodara, Gujarat. Pocketing eight points from nine rounds overall, he registered the win over about 350 talented participants from across India.
“It is wonderful to win outside Kerala, especially when you have gifted players competing with you. You should also be able to predict the move of the opponent. I often try to execute those basic theories in chess,” he says.
Back in 2008, he had won the under-17 state chess championship and an under-25 state title in 2011. He was the runner-up in the state under-17 event, both in 2011 and 2013.
Arjun, who idolises Gary Kasparov and Magnus Carlson, hopes to become a grandmaster in future.
“Chess is a game where every player dreams to be a grandmaster. It is the ultimate aim for me and perhaps for many other players. I am working hard towards my goal,” says Arjun, whose father Mohanan K is also a chess player.
His dreams apart, this chess enthusiast wants to be settled with a central government job. “I would love to win a government job through my chess-playing career. It is the wish of the whole of my family,” he says.
His mother Latha K E is a housewife and sister Megha K is a fashion designing student.