Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Young star on the horizon

Bansi Prathima

HYDERABAD: Bansi Prathima left for Singapore World Schools chess championship with a promise to come back with a medal. And coming up with an impressive performance, this six-year-old gifted young player from Secunderabad has actually won the gold medal and in the process created a small piece of history – to become the first Telugu girl ever to win this title.

Considering her age and the way she struggles to reply to even casual queries, Bansi excelled at the thing she is really good at – on the 64 squares. Cornering even some of the favourites, this young Hyderabadi has in a way served a reminder to the chess lovers of her emergence at the higher levels. Winning the World Schools under-7 title may not take the chess world by storm but will definitely push her to a different level the next time when she competes in any national event.

A delighted Prathima informed The Hindu from Singapore that she could live up to the expectations of her coach D. V. Ganesh and her parents. “Definitely, this win gives me lots of confidence and lets me plan to compete in many more tournaments,” she added. Well, with an all-win record in the eight rounds so far and clinching the honours with one more to spare is itself a creditable achievement by her own standards.

“What is remarkable is the composure she maintained right through,” insists her coach Ganesh. “Even in a couple of games when she looked down, she displayed remarkable resilience to outwit the better-rated opponents. This is proof of the spark this young kid has and should be a big star in future if she sustains the interest, the high level of intelligence and uncanny knack of coming up with the right move,” he explained.

Now, critics do believe that Prathima can be another big name in chess world from the State.

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