May 7, 2026, 9:33 am
NEW DELHI: In India’s ever-growing pursuit of becoming a sporting nation, chess stands at a crucial juncture. Fresh off celebrating R Vaishali‘s triumph in the 2026 Women’s Candidates, the country now looks ahead to an even grander celebration as both Vaishali and Gukesh prepare for their World Championship matches. For many, this feels like a make-or-break phase, one that could shape the future of India’s ambitions in chess for years to come. The game of 64 squares is indeed something on the rise, gaining ground in a nation evidently dominated by cricket.Just last week, eight-year-old Tamizh Amudhan from Tamil Nadu became an overnight sensation after defeating World No. 7 Vincent Keymer in an online tournament. What fuelled his virality was the image of the child prodigy playing by candlelight during a power cut, on a laptop running out of battery, connected through his father’s mobile hotspot.
While nothing should take away from the significance of his victory over one of the world’s best players, load-shedding and playing on a hotspot during a blackout are merely the tip of an iceberg of logistical and financial nightmares that often leave these tomorrow’s chess stars and their families to fend for themselves.
As long as you are playing on your mobile, tablet, computer, or from the comfort of your home, chess remains accessible. But the moment you step outside to compete seriously, it starts burning your bank balance. Ask Yatin Sarabalia, father of 12-year-old FIDE Master (FM) Aarav Sarbalia, and see him describing a financial black hole that is swallowing his family’s future.“Financially, everything is coming from our savings,” Yatin told TimesofIndia.com. “Whatever savings we have are gradually getting depleted, and no new savings are being built. That’s definitely a problem.”
Aarav Sarbalia (Special Arrangements)
The cost of entry into the elite circle is a minimum of Rs 12–15 lakh per year for just three or four European trips.Because the players are minors, the cost is always doubled, a “Parent Tax” that must be paid.“I go for one trip, my wife goes for another, so my office work is not affected too much. Meanwhile, one of us manages our daughter at home,” Yatin explained.
Even with the money in hand, the road to the board is blocked by bureaucratic absurdity. Yatin can still recall a Kafkaesque visa interview at the Hungarian Embassy that serves as a reminder of where the system needs improvement.Despite being a national runner-up in his age group, Aarav was treated like a fraud. “They interviewed Aarav and said he doesn’t know chess,” Yatin recalled. “They asked him history questions like: ‘Who is the father of chess? Who is the mother of chess? Who is the king of chess?’ Then they told me he doesn’t know the game.”It is a humiliation unique to the Indian chess parent, having to prove your child’s genius to a clerk who doesn’t know a fork from a pin, all while thousands of rupees in non-refundable flights hang in the balance.
Sponsorships like Oil India or BPCL usually start at 16. But if younger children are performing well, why not for them?
Surender Lahoty, father of Delhi’s Under-7 champion, Aarini Lahoty
The toll extends to the very streets of foreign cities. There is no manual for the parents, and the tuition fees for this are paid in scams.“People learn through mistakes. We wasted a lot of unnecessary money learning things the hard way, where not to book cabs, when to use Uber, where scams happen,” Yatin, who stays in Bengaluru, revealed. In the absence of a support system, parents are left to navigate predatory taxi drivers and logistical traps in foreign lands alone.“That kind of knowledge-sharing is very limited. Parents usually don’t have practical knowledge about tournament logistics. You learn by being cheated.”
When parents try to save money by playing in India, they hit a different wall. For a player to gain a norm (the requirement for IM/GM titles), the tournament must maintain a strict rating average. In India, organisers often prioritise participation fees over professional integrity.“Abroad, if a tournament says ‘Above 2100’, it means strictly above 2100,” Yatin explained. “In India, at the last moment, many 1800 or 1900-rated players are allowed in. That reduces norm chances significantly.”
Aarini Lahoty (Special Arrangements)
This bait-and-switch forces parents back to the airport. Why spend weeks in Pune, Delhi, or Chennai playing tournaments after tournaments if the coveted norm is mathematically impossible before the first pawn is moved?Grandmaster Shyam Sundar M, who is a renowned coach in Chennai and is well aware of what happens in the norm tournaments in India, acknowledges the practical difficulties for organisers.“If some two or three players cancel, then the whole tournament and norm is a bit messed up,” he told this website, describing it as a fragile system where a single player’s absence can invalidate a year of a prodigy’s effort.
Vikram Rawat, an IT professional in Delhi and father of Commonwealth Chess Championship 2025 girls under-10 gold medallist Vanshika Rawat, says his family’s experience on the international circuit revealed the bitter reality behind the glamour of the sport.“When we won the Commonwealth and came back from Kuala Lumpur, nothing in the world changed,” he said. “I realised that for the same money (Rs 2-2.5 lakh), you could go to Europe, gain exposure, and increase your rating (by playing better players). You won’t get the ‘representing the country’ tag, but for us, the medals didn’t change anything.”
Vanshika Rawat (Special Arrangements)
Surender Lahoty, father of one of the youngest FIDE-rated players in the country and Delhi’s Under-7 champion, Aarini Lahoty, sums up the frustration of the early-stage grind. “Sponsorships like Oil India or BPCL usually start at 16. But if younger children are performing well, why not for them?” he asked.
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Should chess tournaments in India maintain strict player rating averages?
The lack of support has reached a point where many parents are reconsidering whether they can afford to take their children to international tournaments representing India.“Obviously, this was a children’s age-category tournament, so I wasn’t expecting massive media coverage. But at least at the federation level, to motivate the kids, there was no mention anywhere, neither from the state federation nor the national federation,” Vikram said.“As a parent, that forces you to make difficult decisions. For example, this year we are not even planning to travel, and that was a very hard call to take. Commonwealth 2026 is happening this year, and I’ve already told Vanshika that we may not go.ALSO READ: Vincent Keymer Exclusive: Being Germany No. 1, Magnus Carlsen intimidation, Freestyle Chess, and more“That decision comes from what I’ve learned by observing players senior to her. Even after winning nationals, many of them choose not to play these tournaments for the country because the expenses eventually become double or triple.”In this gloomy hour, Shyam Sundar sees a shift coming as he said, “I’m seeing a positive trend… in Mumbai, Gujarat, and Madurai. More and more Indian titled players, IMs and GMs, have started to play these Indian open events. I’m sure we’ll see many norms tournaments happening in India itself sooner.”
