NEW DELHI: Five-year-old Aarini Lahoty has carved her name into Indian chess history by becoming the country’s youngest and the world's youngest female player to earn FIDE ratings across all three formats - classical, rapid, and blitz.
The Delhi girl now holds ratings of 1553 in classical, 1550 in rapid, and 1498 in blitz, becoming the first 2019-born chess player from India to do so.
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Born on September 19, 2019, Aarini had already become India’s highest-rated player in her age group in August, across boys and girls, among those born after 2019.
FIDE Rating List
"In Rapid, the format was 15+10, and in Blitz, it was 3+2. At home, we kept practising with the same time controls to prepare her for tournaments. And even at this minute, if I ask her to play a tournament, she’s ready to go with me. In fact, today she played a local tournament where she won the Under-7 category and finished second in Under-16," he added.
In her age group, while some players have got rapid ratings, Aarini is the first 2019-born to hold FIDE ratings in all three formats.
Surendar, who runs the IGSF Chess Academy in Delhi and teaches physical education at Bluebells School International, recalled, “From the age of one, she would set up the board herself. During lockdown, she watched me teach online and started moving the pieces correctly on her own.”
With Indian chess in its golden era, Aarini represents the youngest wave of the boom.
Surendar is clear about her path ahead: “We want her to become India’s youngest IM and GM, and make everyone proud.”
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