North star: Shubhi Gupta finds her place on the chess board

At first sight, Shubhi Gupta doesn't really stand out. Like any shy 12-year-old, she struggles to meet your eye, clasps her palm as she talks, and betrays no sign of being a world beater. Talk chess though, and the world cadet champion is hard to stop. After all, it is what she has been doing for half of her young life. Flanked by the numerous honours she has collected, dwarfed by the giant trophy she won at the Nationals, staring at the shelves overflowing with her medals, she throws up a little gem — "I hate to lose."

PREMIUM

At the World Cadet Championships in Georgia recently, she walked the talk. After cruising through the first six rounds, she was laid low by a stomach bug on the eve of the seventh and went on to lose it. "I could barely sit. The effect of medication made me drowsy," she said.

Miles away, pacing in his south Delhi home, coach Prasenjit Dutta knew his ward was made of sterner stuff. "Just keep your health issues aside and win the damn thing. I don't want any excuses," he would tell Shubhi that night.

"She is a fighter" laughs Dutta. "As a coach, sometimes you have to be extra strict to get the job done. It helps that she trusts me."

Shubhi proceeded to win three of the next four rounds, in the process, pocketing the under-12 title. "It means a lot to me. To represent India was always a dream, and to actually win it is surreal," she said.

Born to Pradeep and Urmila Gupta in a middle-class household, Shubhi is the younger of her two siblings. She was introduced to chess by Pradeep when she turned five, and soon developed a liking for the board.

"Soon, she started surprising us with her moves. We could see she liked the sport, but never thought she'd pursue it professionally," Pradeep said.

A couple of years on, she was enrolled in the chess club at her school. Within a year, she won a chess competition in their housing society, and the winning habit caught on.

"In hindsight, it was an insignificant tournament, but it ended up giving her the belief that a youngster needs," says Urmila, whose interest in chess was piqued by Shubhi's consistent success, so much so that she picked up the basics on YouTube. "I can say I am a pretty decent amateur now," she chuckled.

Such was the pull of the sport that the entire family soon found itself consumed by 64 squares. "We don't watch much television. We don't follow any other sport. We can't afford vacations. Most of our conversations are centered around chess," Urmila, now an avid chess watcher, added.

On days they decide to test their skills against Shubhi, she duly serves them a hammering. "I don't let them win. Not even a round," she quipped.

As years rolled on, thanks to her rather unusual choice of sport, Shubhi's circle of friends shrunk. The chess club at school offered little competition, and Shubhi's training schedule left her with little time to venture out.

The fact that the chess culture is virtually non-existent in north India means it is largely a lonely road for Shubhi.

"I am used to being in minority at national events. I have 4-5 good friends at school that have stayed with me. Not everyone understands chess, so there's little in common with other kids," she said. "Unlike Kolkata or Chennai, we don't have a thriving chess culture here, which means it is not easy to get quality matches."

Online tournaments are an option, but the youngster feels those are no match for the offline ones. "They are a different beast. You can see the opponent, feel the pressure. You see the hall being emptied gradually. It's a completely different feel. To go from online to offline can be tough."

The occasional skater and table tennis enthusiast is now completely invested in chess, her daily practice sessions stretching to six hours daily. "This sport has taught me to sit still. I can focus for 3-4 hours at a stretch. As I grow into my career, I'll need to enhance my physical and mental reserves," she continued.

Her calmness stood her in good stead in the tense final round in Georgia, which she drew to secure the win. "A loss would have meant no gold, but a draw meant I may lead the field on points. It was a tricky decision, but I am glad I made it," she said. "I knew what was at stake. For the first time in my life, I felt the fear of losing. All I did was recall my training, have some water, and pop a chewing gum."

There were no such nervous anxieties for coach Dutta, who had seen his ward make some improbable comebacks in her young career. A fortnight before she boarded the flight to Georgia, Dutta handed her a handful of books on dynamic positioning, an area he felt Shubhi needed to work on.

"It took her rivals by surprise. We worked on a different line of attack, specifically for this tournament. These days, there are no real trade secrets, so it is important to constantly learn new tricks," he said.

Among the tricks Shubhi has learned over the years is to test the psychology of her opponents. Chess players are not known to show much emotion at the table, but dropping visual hints may sometimes bluff the opponent. "The moment a player walks into the trap is very gratifying, but you can't show much emotion because you don't want the opponent to know they have been tricked until the final move."

"I observe where the player is looking at on the board, but I don't read too much into it as it may be a bluff. If the opponent's hand trembles for a microsecond just before she makes the move, you can be certain she is unsure. That's the moment you must pounce on. At the international level though, players are smart enough to disguise their emotions."

Dutta predicts a bright future for Shubhi, who aims to earn the Grandmaster norm in two years. "She has all the makings of a successful international, if groomed well. She needs to travel to as many international events as possible to gather ranking points and experience. I do hope she finds a sponsor," he said. Having skipped this month's Asian Youth Championships in Bali due to a fund crunch, Shubhi will next be seen at the National Women's Chess Championship in Kolhapur in November.

Experience unrestricted digital access with HT Premium

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.