KOLKATA: Chess was alien to Saparya Ghosh till she watched her senior schoolmates play a board game in the school bus at the age of five. She got attracted to it and almost immediately started making waves on the chequered board. The Kolkata youngster took a big step in international chess by winning two titles in the Asian Youth Chess Championships that concluded in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday.
The Ashok Hall Girls' School student topped the classical and rapid categories in the Under-12 girl's category as India ended with 46 medals, including 27 individual (13 Gold, 6 Silver and 8 Bronze) and 19 team (8 Gold, 4 Silver and 7 Bronze) at the meet.
"I went there with no expectations and returned with a satisfying experience," she told TOI on returning to the city on Monday. This was only her second tournament outside India after the World Cadet championship at Batumi, Georgia, in September. "I learned from the mistakes that I made at Batumi and ensured not to repeat those here," she stated.
In the nine-round classical section, Ghosh ended with seven points, winning six, drawing two and losing one match. She was cruising well but losing the penultimate round saw her in a must-win match in the last-round. "I am happy to hold my nerves and pull it through in the final match to win gold," she stated. Ghosh was also happy with the way she could stage a comeback and win her third-round match from a difficult position.
In the rapid section too, the Class VIII student was on top winning the first four rounds before suffering a setback. But she rebounded winning the next and drew the last to claim gold. "I could not afford a loss in the last round there and had to fight for a draw," she mentioned.
A student of city-based Alekhine Chess Club, Ghosh, who won two age-level state titles and finished third in the national U-12 meet at Karnataka this year, will represent the country in the next World and Asian meets now. This win also ensured the 1539 Elo-rated player a WFM norm. "I am enjoying the game and want to pursue it seriously," she stated with dreams to become a Grandmaster and perhaps end up as a world champion someday.
