What an amazing story! So young and already accomplished at the game.
SPECIAL TO THE SPORTS COLUMN FROM SANTHOSH
What can you say when a young boy, not yet six years old, gets to be the youngest rapid-rated player in India? This kindergartener accomplished just that. His name is Mithun Pranav, whose rapid rating (1047), was judged by FIDE (World Chess Federation) in March of this year.
That makes him the youngest player in India to have achieved that standing.
Courtesy: ChessBase India
Pranav was introduced to the game at age four, and his tournament journey began at an international gathering (Singapore) in late 2017. Pranav’s father–a chess player himself–helped his son overcome tournament fear and cultivate sportsmanship while playing.
The first step was competing against other children who had achieved a high skill level. Then, Pranav began training with adults. From there, there was no looking back, only going forward.
Today, Pranav’s cabinet is full of medals, trophies, and other embodiments of his chess-playing accomplishments, including
–Standing first with 5/6 points at the 10th National Kindergarten Chess Championship held at Singapore in April 2019.
–Playing in the 8th National Schools Chess Championship at Chhattisgarh, Raipur (April 2019) and securing 6/9 points.
–Participating in the World Schools Chess Championship (Antalya, Turkey) as the youngest player among 392 players from 33 different countries.
–Receiving an award from Bharathi Chess Academy (Vellore, India) for becoming India’s Youngest Rapid Rated Player.
–Being featured in an April 2019 article published by ChessBase India, India’s leading chess news periodical.
–Being interviewed live by Nurtr, India’s leading online chess learning platform, with links to Facebook and Twitter.
Mithun spends his free time playing on FIDE’s online arena against players of all categories. There he has been conferred the title, “Arena Candidate Master.” His role models are Bobby Fisher, Magnus Carlsen, and Viswanathan Anand. Apart from chess, Mithun also practices fencing and loves swimming.
Mithun’s thankful parents express appreciation for the support their son has received. That support has come from numerous chess-playing advocacy groups, including the Vellore District Chess Association, the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, and the All-India Chess Federation.
