India in chess has been rising in recent times. The nation had been in sensational form in the 45th Chess Olympiad winning double gold in the Men’s and Women’s category. The nation won first place in both the open event and the women’s team competitions. These victories will undoubtedly be remembered as some of India’s finest sporting feats. Some of the grandmasters like D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, and Divya Deshmukh all have been in superb form.
Shreyas Royal was getting concerned about his final GM norm, and he knew who to turn to. The 15-year-old from Woolwich, south-east London, became the UK’s youngest Grandmaster in August. He had Indian teacher Swayams Mishra share insights from his experience waiting over three and a half years for his final GM norm. Shreyas, accompanied by his parents Jitendra and Anju. They were visiting his birthplace, India. For a three-day training camp with Swayams in Bhubaneswar.
They will also do sightseeing and Diwali celebrations with his extended family, there. Shreyas is still buzzing from his experience at the WR Masters in London earlier this month, where he defeated Viswanathan Anand by half a point. The first classical game between them concluded in a tie after Anand squandered a winning lead. The five-time world champion won the match by taking the second game.
Shreyas Royal will be the next sensation from the West
Shreyas did not mind losing to Anand, nevertheless, missing out on a post-game talk with the maestro was disheartening. He did, however, get an overview of how much he needs to improve to compete with the ferocious group of young Indian Super GMs on the loose. Shreyas hopes to break into 2600 by early next year and make the national team for the European Championships.
He believes that if his family had remained in India (he was born in Bengaluru), his life might have turned out differently. Shreyas will spend the remainder of his India tour at his mother’s home in Kansbahal, Rourkela. Right now, the teen is content to gaze at the spacious fields and make arrangements with his cousins to kick around a ball and swing a bat.
