At an age when most children like to watch cartoons and play with toys, 4-year-old Anish Sarkar prefers to rack his brains to battle against opponents on the chess board. The toddler is amazingly successful at the game and became the world’s youngest FIDE-rated player last November when he was 3 years and 10 months old.
The pocket-sized chess prodigy has also been honoured this year with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar award by the government of India. Anish became interested in chess just after his third birthday. At that time his parents had no idea about where his talents lay.
Just as a pastime his father enrolled him in a special training group at a chess academy led by India’s Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua. As soon as the moves were explained to him, Anish showed an exceptional ability to grasp the finer nuances of the game.
Chess expert astounded
The little child would watch chess videos endlessly. When he sat at the board, he would forget everything else. Such was his focus on the game that he would have no wish to eat food. He had the stamina to practice his moves for up to seven hours every day according to Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua. “I am astounded. I have never seen anyone like this boy,” said the experienced chess grandmaster.
In September 2024, Anish played at the All Bengal Rapid Rating Open 2024, where he earned his first rating (in rapid chess) and had the chance to play in a simulated game against one of the world’s top-ranked grandmasters, Arjun Erigaisi.
In November 2024, he became the world’s youngest FIDE-rated player. He had played at the West Bengal Under-9 Championship the previous month, finishing 24th in a field of 140 adult players with a score of 5.5.
Immense confidence and knowledge
Showing immense confidence and chess knowledge, he defeated two rated players in the final two rounds. He then played in a West Bengal Under-13 Championship, after which he earned his first official FIDE rating of 1556.
But at such a tender age his parents do not want to put pressure on him. They are merely allowing him to do whatever he wants. How far he will go and whether he may become a world champion one day, remains to be seen.
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