Anish Sarkar began playing chess on a train and now practices eight hours a day after becoming the world’s youngest ever FIDE-rated player
January 4 saw a ceremony to celebrate the achievements of the students at the Dhanuka Dhanseri Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy in Kolkata, India. The hall was full of proud parents, early-school children, and teenagers who show promise at the state and national levels.
They were called one-by-one for prizes by the institute’s founder, industrialist Chandra Kumar Dhanuka, and their coach, India’s second grandmaster, Dibyendu Barua.
The gathered journalists had their attention focused on a shy three-year-old sitting in a corner. Almost too young for school, he avoided the cameras whenever he realized he was being filmed. Finally, Anish Sarkar was called on stage and the cameras kept on clicking. Requests for photos continued.
Finally, Anish had had enough. “No photos, no more photos,” he protested. His mother and coach intervened, saying he was cranky because he had to leave a practice game in the class downstairs.
There was a little disappointment around as everyone wanted more of the chess prodigy. After the photo session, Anish rushed back to complete his game.
“He spends over eight hours a day playing chess. He enjoys nothing more,” his mother R Chatterjee (name changed at her request) explained to RT, as he was planning his next moves.
Anish, who turns four on Sunday, took the chess world by storm by becoming the youngest International Chess Federation (FIDE) rated player in November. He was all of three years and eight months old.
Born on January 26, 2021, Anish made his debut in competitive chess with the West Bengal state Under-9 Open in October, securing 5.5 out of 8 points and finishing 24th. He defeated two rated players, Arav Chatterjee and Ahilaan Baishya.
A week later, Anish played again in the West Bengal state Under-13 Open, where he faced players who were at least six years older. But this tournament ensured that he met the requirement of facing five rated players, earning him an initial FIDE rating of 1555. With this, he broke the record set by Tejas Tiwari, who had become the youngest FIDE-rated player at the age of five.
Anish’s journey started on a train. He was just three, and saw another boy of about nine playing chess. The two started playing. “He had picked up a bit of chess watching videos online but we were both surprised to see him win,” his mother told RT. “Like most parents, we wanted to enroll him in drawing or singing classes at this age. But we realized he has talent.”
But neither she nor his father had any idea about professional chess. They had played chess as children, as many people do.
“I am only learning the names of strategies and moves with Anish as I don’t want to be completely left out of what is so important in his life,” Chatterjee said. “After he learns a move, we go online and check what it is called or how it is played.”
They took Anish to Barua, who was initially not keen on admitting him to the academy due to his age. “We don’t really have a minimum age but three is too young, we usually don’t go below five. It becomes difficult to manage if the children are scared or they can’t use the toilet,” Barua told RT. But with Anish, just a few minutes was enough to convince Barua that he had a spark.
“I gave him a problem to solve and was really impressed by the way he approached it,” Barua said. “Even if he had watched it anywhere, it takes a lot for a child to remember such complex ideas.”
Once he was admitted, Anish started spending several hours at the academy, sometimes at Barua’s home too. “By October, I felt he was ready to play in some events and he performed as well as expected and more,” Barua said.
Anish now spends around seven to eight hours at the academy after school. He and his mother leave home at 7am to catch the bus for school and then after resting a bit, head straight to the academy.
“He keeps practicing and often has dinner here,” Chatterjee said, as she made arrangements for his dinner for the day. When Anish practices, Chatterjee joins other parents sitting in the lobby and discussing the future of their children.
Barua, who became the youngest national champion in 1983, said the perception about chess has changed a lot in India. When he was growing up, it was seen as a bad habit for children, but now with many studies indicating that the game enhances thinking abilities in children, he finds more parents encouraging young children to play.
With Anish’s success, it has gone up even more. Barua now gets calls from the parents of two-year old children.
But he is careful that early success does not distract Anish. “The journey to grandmaster success is far, far away,” Barua said. “And this is what I have in mind for him. But as of now, he is just a child who loves chess. I don’t want him to lose out on that joy at all.”
This kind of proper grooming is important for prodigies who often get lost in the long run, according to chess writer and coach Praful Zaveri.
“There are multiple factors that combine for final success,” Zaveri said. “If we look at world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, his parents had to take the difficult decision of allowing him to quit studies early on. While that may not be needed for all chess players, factors like strong financial backing and international exposure also become important.”
When not playing chess, Sarkar is like other children. He likes to chase a football on the playground, loves biryani, and watches the educational YouTube channel Blippi. But even online, his preference is watching anything to do with chess.
Chatterjee was clear that she does not want to put any pressure on Anish.
“He is too young to even understand what he has achieved and it becomes difficult for us middle-class parents to protect him from attention,” she said. He is sometimes confused when people recognise him on the bus or give up their seat for him.
She felt such expectations can be difficult for him in the long run. “The same people can be upset if he does not continue to do as well in chess. So I am happy to wait till he becomes a grandmaster before there is any more media glare on him.”
Chatterjee is also open to him turning away from chess in the future. “I am absolutely fine with it if he eventually decides to do something else,” she said. “I just want him to be happy doing what he does.” The interview is over as the mother leaves to feed Anish.