In a sport usually that includes teenage prodigies, Shyam Nikhil is the poster boy for endurance. The Tamil Nadu chess participant grew to become an Worldwide Grasp on the age of 18 again in 2010, earlier than accumulating two out of three norms wanted to develop into a grandmaster inside a yr. By 2012, he had additionally crossed the score threshold of 2500 factors essential to develop into a GM. He appeared destined to develop into India’s twenty eighth grandmaster very quickly, however it took Shyam 12 extra years to achieve the elite standing he was in search of.
This week, the now 31-year-old from Tamil Nadu earned that third norm which is able to make him India’s eighty fifth grandmaster. His elevation is in stark distinction to that of Gukesh, who will problem for the world chess championship crown later this yr, was India’s youngest-ever grandmaster on the age of 12.
What makes Shyam an outlier in Indian chess is the truth that tales like that of Gukesh — of youngsters incomes their three grandmaster norms of their early teenagers — are commonplace.
“It took a very long time however it did lastly work out. It was all the time there inside hanging distance. In these 12 years, I by no means felt that I received’t have the ability to get it. Initially, I used to be very assured that I might get the third norm as a result of I’ve the energy. However afterward, due to exterior pressures and so many misses, sooner or later I began to really feel (the desperation) that I simply must get the third norm,” a relieved Shyam tells The Indian Specific from the UAE the place he secured the norm on the Dubai Police World Chess Problem.
Throughout this testing interval, it was his mother and father — Okay Ponnuswamy, who used to work as a knowledge entry operator within the state categorical transport company, and mom P Santhi, a homemaker — who stored him going.
“My mother and father are those who launched me to chess and stood by me all through, even when outcomes weren’t in my favour. I need to dedicate this GM title to my mother and father.” Shyam says earlier than including: “I missed the third norm on a number of events regardless of coming inside touching distance. Simply earlier than this occasion in Dubai, I performed a match in France the place I missed the third norm by half a degree. At an occasion in 2012, I had once more missed the third norm by half a degree. In 2020, within the final spherical of an occasion, I wanted a win in opposition to a Russian GM. I used to be clearly profitable, earlier than I received into time hassle and misplaced. That miss was essentially the most painful. If I had received, I might have earned the GM title and completed second within the occasion, which might have gotten me a prize cash of Rs 4 lakh or one thing. I misplaced and ended across the thirtieth place, and took dwelling Rs 10,000.”
One other a kind of near-misses got here in 2014, when Shyam had every thing in place to realize the elusive third norm. The occasion was in India and since his first two norms had additionally are available in India, guidelines dictated that he wanted to earn one overseas.
Shyam Nikhil, a 31-year-old from Tamil Nadu, is now India’s eighty fifth grandmaster. (Photograph courtesy Shyam Nikhil)
When he lastly received his third GM norm, a lot of his friends like Srinath Narayanan, who has now develop into a coach, Shyam Sundar and Adhiban Baskaran despatched him congratulatory texts.
“I can’t bear in mind who amongst us grew to become an IM first, however I used to be as soon as the highest-rated amongst this group again in 2008. I used to be rated round 2375 again then. In some unspecified time in the future, we have been on the similar degree, however someplace I misplaced momentum,” Shyam admits.
Prodigies like Gukesh grew to become grandmasters so early of their careers by obsessively chasing the title in occasions world wide, nearly dwelling out of their suitcases. Gukesh’s father additionally put his personal profession on maintain to journey with him full time. For Shyam although, monetary constraints meant he hardly ever received to play in European occasions, the place he says it’s simpler to earn norms and score factors. What additionally held his quest for the third norm again was the truth that he was an up-and-coming participant primarily based out of Nagercoil in an period when chess engines and the web have been nonetheless to make their presence felt fully.
“To play in Europe, you additionally wanted to indicate financial institution statements and we didn’t have that again then. I received to journey overseas recurrently solely from 2017 after becoming a member of the ICF, Railways,” he says.
Shyam admits that over time, the third norm was not all the time on the forefront of his thoughts.
“The first focus sooner or later was simply to enhance my score, as a result of you must preserve a superb score to make the lower for the Railways group on the Nationals. Solely the highest 10 gamers (high 7 by score and high 3 finishers within the inter-railway competitions) get to play within the Railways group. In case you’re within the Railways group, you get further depart for observe,” says Shyam, who joined below the sports activities quota as a junior clerk and has since risen to develop into an workplace superintendent.
Now that the long-awaited objective is lastly achieved, what’s the subsequent goal for him?
“One is to enhance my score. However I positively need to enhance the standard of my chess,” he says earlier than including with a smile, “I need to play video games which are remembered.”