Mastering the winning moves

For a seven-year-old, he hardly looks the kind who could be into sports and certainly does not seem to carry any champion material aura.

At least, that is the general opinion one gets on a first interaction with him. But put Sai Rishi Raj Pulipaka face to face with an opponent for a game of chess and one would be amazed at his dexterity in making moves, the winning ones, to be more precise.

The prodigiously gifted player, who presently enjoys an envious 1144 Elo rating, has been rising up the ladder of success with a rare consistency.

This has drawn praise from the veterans in the firmament, who see a ‘bright future’ for the second standard student of Sri Aurobindo International School in Vidyanagar.

In a mind-game where a sharp position is the determining factor, Rishi Raj has shown glimpses of making moves that are in sync with the position on hand and are driven by a temperament that is helping him outwit the opponents at their own game.

Fresh from the junior title in the 127th edition of the hugely popular Brilliant Trophy tournament, Rishi Raj exemplifies a rare gift, which has been given shape and honed by seasoned coaches JRC Prasad and J Subrahmanyam, under whom he trains.

His parents, P Kiran Kumar, who works in the Judicial Department, and P Sreelaxmi, with the Intelligence Department, and are natives of Hyderabad, credit the two coaches for fine-tuning the immense potential that their son has been endowed with.

The youngster, who idolises the ‘Lightning Kid’, is quite exuberant when it comes to strategizing his future plans.

‘I wish to accomplish an Elo rating of 2000 in the coming season. A Fide Master title in the next three years and an international title within five years are my immediate championship targets,’ avers the kid, who is also proficient in his academics, much to the satisfaction of the school management.

It is rather appreciable that he is gradually eyeing the bigger league, which as he puts is ‘will be in leaving a mark in international age-group tournaments.’

This determination gains credence from the fact that he has two coveted international engagements lined up for the middle of next year.

He will be participating in the Asian Youth Under-8 Chess Championship-2017, which is to be held in Uzbekistan from March 31 to April 9 and the more prized World Cadet Under-8 Chess Championship-2017, slated to be hosted by Brazil from August 21 to 31.

Subrahmanyam points out that the boy ‘is hugely talented. All he needs is more and more competitive exposure, particularly against those from higher age-groups when pitted against them in the open category.

We will be working on building such a cometitve spirit in the summer holidays so that he can be battle-ready for Uzbekistan and Brazil.’

Rishi Raj gave enough indications of his rich repertoire in the Under-7 National Chess Championship held at Puducherry in October.

He finished at an admirable tenth position, which was, by far, the best showing by any player from the entire Telangana State!

Here is hoping that January 1 will signal a new dawn and the beginning of a more rewarding year for Sai Rishi Raj Pulipaka, who celebrates his birthday on December 31.

By: M Sai Saraswat