Three year old Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha has become the youngest player ever to earn a rating from the International Chess Federation (Fide), the world governing body. Sarwagya began playing at his home in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, when he was two and a half. Nitin Chourasia started coaching him in April, six days a week, four hours a day. The extensive training helped Sarwagya to defeat three rated players and achieve a 1,572 rating from Fide.
He beat a record set by Anish Sarkar, from Calcutta, who achieved the same feat in November last year when he was three years, eight months and 19 days - one month older than Sarwagya.
Sarwagya’s father, Siddharth Singh Kushwaha, said his son was too young to comprehend his feat but was delighted with the gifts his family showered him with after his win.
Kushwaha, 32, a farmer, is an amateur chess player himself and noticed his son’s talent early on. The family were inspired by Gukesh Dommaraju, 19, the youngest undisputed world champion ever, who is from Chennai. “Sarwagya heard us talking about Gukesh and began watching videos. He picked up the rules in no time,” Kushwaha said.
Many chess prodigies start playing very young. The former world champion Magnus Carlsen was five when he began playing and the five-time Indian World Cup winner Anand Viswanathan was six.
Bharat Singh Chauhan, deputy president of the Asian Chess Federation, said: “I’m pleasantly surprised at these prodigies. It helps that they have plenty of opportunities to play.”
India, where chess originated in the 6th century, is in the throes of a revival of interest in the game, with corresponding achievements. Last April, Dommaraju became the youngest winner of the prestigious Fide Candidates tournament, smashing a record that had been unbroken for 40 years after it was set by the Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov.
Other Indian talents include Arjun Erigaisi, 22, and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 20.
Kushwaha said: “I am so proud and so lucky. We want him to become a grandmaster.”