Shreyas — the boy who helped his family avoid deportation and is now UK’s youngest ever chess Grandmaster
Shreyas Royal making the opening move in the game between Anish Giri and Viswanathan Anand at the Global Chess League.
| Photo Credit: Lennart Ootes
LONDON
Shreyas Royal wants D. Gukesh to win the upcoming World chess championship. If the Chennai teenager does that — he is most people’s favourite at the moment — Shreyas could tell his friends, “You know, I almost beat the World champion in classical chess when I was 14, and drew with him, at any rate.”
That happened at the London Chess Classic last December. It caught the chess world’s attention, of course. The larger world became aware of the Bengaluru-born Shreyas six years earlier, though.
His father Jitendra Singh’s work visa was about to expire, and he was told that it could not be extended if he didn’t earn £120,000. But, Rachel Reeves, now Chancellor of the Exchequer, intervened, arguing that the country would have lost one of its brightest had Shreyas been deported.
The then home secretary Sajid Javid made a personal decision that allowed the family to stay under a new work visa. Shreyas repaid the UK’s faith in him. A couple of months ago, he became the country’s youngest ever Grandmaster, beating David Howell’s record by six months.
#TheFirstMove that led to the best moves 😍#TechMGCL#TheNextMove#PBGvUMM | @tech_mahindra | @FIDE_chess | @chesscom | @chesscom_in | @umumbapic.twitter.com/RI1lgEcvqA
— Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) October 9, 2024
Howell is a commentator at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, where Shreyas was a guest and made the inaugural move for one of the matches. “I am glad that such a world-class tournament has come to England, where the game needs much more support than it is getting now,” he told The Hindu.
“I hope this will help chess (which is not considered a sport in the UK) increase its popularity here. And it was a bit surreal to see some of my idols, including Viswanathan Anand at the venue.”
Shreyas says British chess needs financial support badly. “Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had allocated some £500,000 last year for the development of chess, but I think the new government has pulled out that funding,” he says. “It is a huge pity.”
I was fortunate enough to make the first move at the GCL yesterday in the game Giri vs Anand. I was extremely pleased to see it happening in London and I throughly enjoyed my time yesterday. I'd like thank the organisers for inviting me. pic.twitter.com/R8KYTlMAxG
— Shreyas Royal (@shrez_royal09) October 6, 2024
He is looking forward to the World championship match between reigning champion Ding Liren and Gukesh. “Gukesh has been playing really well, and even if Ding recovers his form it will be hard for him to win the match,” he says.
“Gukesh is a very confident, disciplined player. I hope he wins and then I could say I almost beat the World champion in a classical game when I was 14”.
(The correspondent is in London at the invitation of Tech Mahindra)
Published – October 09, 2024 08:02 pm IST
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