Chess prodigy Aryan Chopra is aiming for stars

NEW DELHI: At 10, Aryan Chopra is too young to understand the importance of a champion. He has just won a gold in U-10 category in the Commonwealth Chess Championship in South Africa recently, yet he is not aware of it's importance because he is too obsessed with Harry Potter, Sachin Tendulkar and Rafael Nadal."I only know that I wasappreciated by my school principal," he told TOI. Last year, Aryan, the latestchess talent to emerge from the Capital, became the youngest ever U-10Commonwealth champion at eight. Later, he became entitled for the youngestCandidate Master of India following his impressive performances. In June thisyear, Chopra was tied for first in the U-11 national championships. But he hadto settle for the runners-up trophy because tie-break scores went againsthim.Yet, he was introduced to the game quite casually. Just likemost kids would do, Chopra picked up the chess board and developed a fancy forthe pieces. But soon, his love affair with the 64 squares grew deeper than hisparents would have imagined. "When barely six, he used to sit with thechessboard and move the pieces," said mother Mamta.Surprisingly, thechess player he likes the most is Norway's 19-year-old Grandmaster MagnusCarlsen, whom he calls the 'Super GM.' Aryan idolizes Carlsen because he comesfrom a humble background and fought against difficulties to be an achiever at avery young age. While Chopra is enjoying chess, his family is a little worriedabout his future because the game has become far too expensive. "We want to take him to the World Youth Championships in Brazil in November. But travelling itself is very costly," said Mamta. What also adds to the expenses is hiring a good coach. "A chess player needs a coach round the yearand that too involves a lot of money," explained his mother.Onehopes, Aryan won't be stopped in this tracks due to a paucity of funds.