From lockdown lessons to global chess glory; Siblings turn COVID-19 lockdown into chess mastery

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Devnath learned chess online when he was tired of staying at home during COVID-19. Needing a partner to play with, he taught his younger sister Divi, who was six and a half years at the time. Despite her age, Divi quickly became a formidable opponent impressing her older brother with her grasp of the game. It’s been two and a half years since she started playing chess. Their skills have since brought them success at state and national levels with Divi recently winning the Asian championship and excelling in the FIDE World Cup. Both siblings are now FIDE-rated players.

Children of Technopark employees Bijesh and Prabha, the family lives in Karyavattam. Recognizing their children's talent, the parents enrolled them at the Masters Academy under the tutelage of GS Sreejith.

This year, Devnath became the champion in the open category in the state under-17 championship held in Thrissur, while Divi took the crown among the girls. Devnath (14) is in ninth grade and Divi (9) is in fourth grade at Alan Feldman Public School, Kazhakootam.

Achievements of Divi

- Asian Youth Chess Under 10 Blitz: Team Gold

- Asian Youth Chess Under 10 Standard: Team Silver

- Western Asian Youth Chess Under 10 Blitz: Champion

- Western Asian Youth Chess Under 10 Blitz: Team Silver

- FIDE World Cup (8-12 age group): 5th place

- Commonwealth Chess Under-10: Third Runner-up

International chess training is very expensive, with foreign trainers charging dollar-per-hour rates even for online sessions. Bijesh and Prabha, who have financial commitments like housing loans, struggle to afford the high costs of their children's training. They are now seeking sponsors to help Devnath and Divi reach their full potential. With better training, the siblings could achieve greatness similar to that of Pragnanand and his sister Vaishali.