India’s 89th Grandmaster: New GM from Chennai juggles academics & chess

CHENNAI: Between 1948 and 1963, Russian chess legend Mikhail Botvinnik reigned as World Champion. An electrical engineer by profession, he was also a pioneer in developing computer chess. “If an engineer back then could do it, even you can,” is the message of inspiration that coach K Visweswaran of Kameswaran Chess Academy often shares with his student, 19-year-old S Rohith Krishna, who on Wednesday became India’s 89th Grandmaster after securing his final GM norm at Almaty Masters in Kazakhstan.

“I was extremely elated, but in a peaceful way,” said Visweswaran, recalling his reaction to the news. “It had been a while coming because once he joined engineering, he didn’t have much time to train apart from some preparation before tournaments or during vacations.”

Balancing academics and chess has been a challenge for Rohith, but a turning point arrived last February when he won silver at the Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia. “We used to plan online classes on weekends, but he often couldn’t find time. I also had some personal challenges, and last year was a little difficult. I was with him at the Commonwealth Championships, but after that I couldn’t travel with him. He kept playing tournaments on his own, and those became his training ground,” the coach said.

Visweswaran believes that, given the growing number of Grandmasters in India, this is only the beginning for his student. “It is not easy, but these days if you play chess and you are not a GM, people think something is wrong. There’s a lot of pressure, so it feels like a burden has been lifted off our shoulders.”

Rohith, who currently holds a 2500 Elo rating, had once dreamed of becoming a 2700-rated Grandmaster. “It has been difficult because he has been managing different things alongside the game,” said Visweswaran.

Visweswaran believes that, despite his academics, having the GM tag will elevate his profile and help him advance to higher levels in next two years.