Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)

Kolkata-based chess prodigy Anish Sarkar (4) who earned the distinction of becoming the youngest FIDE rated (1555) player in history last October (2024), is the latest to join the elite league of celebrated Indian chess players.

Anish made his debut at age three years and eight months at the first All Bengal Rapid Rating Open 2024 in September where he scored an impressive five points from 11 games. Weeks later, Anish had the opportunity to play against Grand Master Arjun Erigaisi, ranked #4 worldwide, during a rapid rating tournament. Though he did not qualify initially, a last-minute opening allowed him to participate as a substitute. This stroke of luck placed Anish on a fast track, exposing him to high-level competition and igniting an ambition to earn his first official rating.

The only child of a school-teacher and homemaker mother (the couple prefers to remain anonymous to avoid media glare), Anish is a nursery student of Kolkata’s top-ranked St. James School. “Anish has always been outstanding in math. At age 2.5 years, he easily memorised tables until 25. When he turned three, his uncle gifted him a chess board. Fascinated by his new acquisition and curious to know more about the game, we introduced him to the YouTube channel Gotham Chess, which has over 5.5 million subscribers. Once on a train journey from Agra, Anish joined an older child in the adjoining seat playing online chess. By the end of the journey, Anish was winning hands down,” recalls his mother.

Recognising his natural aptitude for this mind game, his parents enrolled him in the city’s Dhanuka Dhunseri Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy run by GM Dibyendu Barua. Since then, the young whiz follows a weekly regimen of participating in chess camps and investing 28 hours of rigorous practice under the watchful eyes of academy mentors, including GM Barua.

Chess aficionados around the world will be watching this young prodigy very intently in the years to come. 

Wind beneath your wings!

Also read: The need of incorporating chess into the education curriculum for students