The immediate goal for M. Sahithi Varshini, who made her Olympiad debut in Chennai for the India-C women’s team, is to become a Woman Grandmaster.
The 15-year-old, currently playing in the European circuit in pursuit of the three GM norms that would earn her the WGM title, is an inspiration for the young talent, having warded off a life-threatening dengue attack when she was just five. Not many gave her a chance to keep going, but a decade later, the young chess talent from Visakhapatnam is ready to script success stories at the highest level.
With her father-cum-coach M. Lokeshwara Rao going all out to support his daughter’s cause, Sahithi has the privilege of focussing more on chess.
