Five-year-old Dhairya Amit Shroff of Gujarat has become the youngest rated chess player in India and the second youngest in the world. He achieved the feat at the age of five years, four months and two days, breaking the record of Pune’s Sarthak Deshpande, who became the youngest rated player at five years and 11 months.
The Lausanne-headquartered global chess body FIDE too confirmed Dhairya as India’s youngest rated chess player and the second youngest in the world.
A spokesperson of International Chess Federation (FIDE) denied detailed information on the age of the youngest rated player in the world citing Europe’s data privacy rules. It was during the lockdown induced by the second wave of the pandemic last year that Dhairya got hooked onto the game. “He was only four and would observe me play chess online and slowly began developing interest in the game. I explained to him the rules and moves and he grasped it easily,” Dhairya’s father Amit Shroff said.
Amit said, “Soon, he started playing on the chess board. Within a week, he defeated me.” He added that he sought the assistance of the Gujarat State Chess Association for professional coaching to Dhairya. Dhairya's coach Rajendrasinh Chavda said, “As he had already learnt the moves and rules of the game, my job was easier. I gave him tough match situations and he solved them with ease. Soon he resolved tougher situations more times in a day. He will reach the top level soon.”
