NEW DELHI: Not way back, Nagpur-born Divya Deshmukh shocked the chess world together with her sensational triumph on the Girls’s World Cup. Having entered as an Worldwide Grasp (IM), the 19-year-old outlasted everybody she confronted, and as she lifted the champion’s crown, she additionally secured the coveted Grandmaster (GM) title in a single go.Often, the trail to the GM title calls for years of grind: three GM norms, numerous tournaments, and a FIDE score of 2500. However sure continental and world occasions, recognised by FIDE, can grant the title straight. And Divya’s case in Batumi was a uncommon occasion of that.
Final week, 22-year-old Raahul VS from Chennai walked that very same path. Within the Philippines, he clinched the sixth ASEAN Particular person Open Chess Championship with a spherical to spare, and with it, turned India’s 91st GM.“I didn’t see the end result myself as a result of it was nonetheless not uploaded,” Raahul instructed TimesofIndia.com from Malaysia, the place he’s competing within the Commonwealth Chess Championship. “My roommate referred to as me and knowledgeable me, ‘You simply turned a GM.’ And I didn’t imagine it for 20 minutes as a result of I used to be so anxious. I requested him to recheck 5 occasions in regards to the end result, whether or not I’m changing into a GM or not. It’s really fairly particular as a result of incomes a direct title like this isn’t a quite common factor.”Absolutely, it isn’t. Particularly for somebody who had been chasing it for years.
A GM dream lengthy delayed
“I used to be fairly shocked as a result of I already had one GM norm beforehand, however I used to be struggling to make my different two norms,” Raahul recalled.“I missed no less than three to 4 occasions this yr. So I hoped, okay, it is a excellent alternative for me. I selected this event as a result of clearly if I win, I develop into a Grandmaster, however on the similar time, I didn’t daydream loads about it.”
Raahul VS
Raahul’s first GM norm got here again in December 2021, when he gained the Asian Junior Championship in Sri Lanka at a time when the chess world was simply recovering from the tremors of the pandemic.
From a hyperactive little one to the nation’s delight
Chess entered Raahul’s life not out of ambition, however out of his mother and father’ light try to show their stressed son the artwork of sitting nonetheless.“I began chess once I was round six years outdated. It was not as a result of I used to be desirous about chess: I used to be a really hyperactive child, and my mother and father couldn’t maintain me in a single spot. In order that they stated, ‘Okay, you’re going to a chess academy. You’ll study to take a seat in a single place for greater than 5 minutes’,” he laughed.“They mainly pressured me to hitch. However the sport appeared attention-grabbing as a result of though we’re sitting, there are such a lot of issues happening. And I started to take an curiosity in it and spent hours taking part in.”Raahul’s father Vijayakumar runs a small development firm and works as a marketing consultant, whereas his mom Sharmila, a former instructor, is now a homemaker, dedicating her time to caring for Raahul and his sister Darshini in a humble Chennai family.
Raahul VS (Picture Credit score: Particular Preparations)
However behind that humble life-style lay the quiet burden of monetary wrestle.“Till the final two or three years, my household was not very sound financially,” he revealed.“Chess is, basically, a really costly sport. Due to that, we had loads of monetary troubles. I additionally began teaching on the aspect as a result of I wished to collect cash for my tournaments as an alternative of all the time counting on my mother and father.”Presently, Raahul is within the closing yr of his MBA at SRM College. “My college has been actually useful,” he stated. “They let me play tournaments; attendance shouldn’t be an issue for me. MBA has been fairly troublesome in comparison with my undergrad, however to date I’ve been capable of do nicely in my exams and provides time to chess too.”
Preventing ‘adverse ideas’ for a very long time
In addition to the monetary troubles, psychological struggles, he admits, had been among the many largest hurdles in his journey.“After I was younger, I received my first IM norm on the age of 14,” Raahul recalled. “At the moment, I had simply hit puberty, and I began getting loads of adverse feelings. If I misplaced a sport, I might get very depressed and couldn’t be constructive about myself. I’ve been coping with it for a very long time as a result of in chess, you have got so many feelings happening.“Even once I turned an IM, I wasn’t doing nicely mentally as a result of I had my ups and downs. However notably in 2025, I began focusing extra on my mentality, making an attempt to actively enhance my psychological focus. That’s the most important factor I’ve overcome until now.”
Addressing the weaknesses
Raahul’s present coach GM Shyam Sundar M has recognized the chess prodigy since his teenage years. However even expertise, as Shyam identified, wanted tempering.“A significant weak point of Raahul’s is that he usually performs very quick, and the standard of his strikes isn’t all the time excessive,” Shyam instructed this web site, recalling numerous discussions about controlling the clock.“Once you play rapidly, you may’t look forward to finding the most effective strikes each time, however in his case, the pace tended to be extra of a disadvantage than a bonus. I’ve instructed him to decelerate a bit; typically he loses video games in simply an hour.”
Raahul VS (Image Credit score: Particular Preparations)
What apprehensive the coach extra, nonetheless, had been the one-move blunders that crept in at essential moments.“He can play good chess for 4 hours after which make a single easy blunder. It would break all that tough work,” Shyam admitted. “So I saved emphasising two issues: decelerate when wanted, and all the time test for easy blunders earlier than you press the clock.”
The street forward
Raahul, who educated below RB Ramesh from the age of 9 to 19 and shared the board with prodigies like Vaishali, Praggnanandhaa, and Aravindh Chithambaram, is aware of that changing into a GM is only one milestone.
Ballot
What do you assume is probably the most difficult side of changing into a Grandmaster in chess?
“In the intervening time, I don’t actually have any plan,” he admitted with a smile. “Airports Authority of India has been sponsoring me on a yearly foundation, however aside from that, I don’t have any monetary help aside from my teaching or prize cash. Even on this championship, I needed to pay my very own means. I hope I get a sponsor sooner or later so it turns into simpler.” ALSO READ: Making of India’s ninetieth GM Ilamparthi AR: Travelling alone at 16, MS Dhoni-esque palms, ailing brother at house