Chess prodigy makes city proud

City-based chess prodigy Moogi Sahithi Varshini has bagged gold in the Asian Chess Championship-2018 in the seven-round rapid event of girls u-12 category.

With this, the 11-year-old player has added another gold medal in her kitty.

Sharing the details of the Asian Chess Championship – 2018 being held in Thailand with The Hindu, Sahithi’s father and coach M. Lokeswara Rao said Sahiti was now preparing for the next formats in the tournament -- Classical and Blitz which will continue in Thailand till April 10.

This is Sahithi’s fourth international tournament after she bagged two gold medals (classical and blitz formats) in the Asian Youth International Chess Championship, Uzbekistan, held last year, another gold in the Commonwealth International Chess Championship, New Delhi and secured the seventh spot in the World Cadets Chess Championship in Brazil in 2017.

Backed by the 10-hour-long rigorous practice, Sahiti said her strategy was to make unpredictable moves and surprise the opponent.

“Focused preparation helped me stand out in the tournament. Despite stiff competition, my strategies and tactics worked well,” said Class V student, who obtained Woman Candidate Master Title in 2017. To spare time to practise chess, Sahiti had to skip classes and make do with the lost portions by attending tuitions.

Sahiti learnt the art of playing chess at the age of eight under the tutelage of her father, who works as an assistant manager at HPCL Visakh Refinery.

She competed in various tournaments at district, State and national levels before making her presence felt in the international events.

‘Not an easy task’

“It is not an easy task to compete in the international tournaments. We need to identify the weakness of the opponents and try to hit them hard when they least expect us to do,” said Sahiti, who aspires to become the youngest Grandmaster.

Mr. Lokeswara Rao feels that international events give Sahiti the right kind of exposure to polish her chess playing skills further.