The making of a chess prodigy: Kalyani Sirin's journey

Journey of a chess prodigy:

Chess prodigies possess a rare combination of talent, intuition, and courage. Their journeys begin at a young age with intense training. They achieve thrilling wins, but also face some setbacks in their journey. Behind every successful story, there is a dedicated team – there are coaches guiding the prodigies and of course, there are parents juggling commitments to help their kids chase their dreams. While adult players might hesitate or stick to well-trodden strategies, young prodigies never hesitate to make bold and creative moves on the board.

One such example is Kalyani Sirin from Kerala. She has captured attention through her inspiring performances and relentless passion for chess. Her chess journey began when she was nine. She joined the Chess Needs Academy alongside her cousin Karthik. After learning the basics of chess from Ragunathan Menon, she took her first steps into competitive chess. She participated in a local tournament and finished at 6th place! She also won the 2nd prize in the Kerala State School Chess Championship. That’s when her parents recognized her potential and decided to support Kalyani to pursue chess. Even Kalyani started taking chess seriously as she did not miss any chess class after her achievement in the local tournament.

Even today, Kalyani never misses an opportunity to surprise us with her performance! One such example is her recent win at the Commonwealth held in last month in Sri Lanka. She won three gold medals in the U-20 Girls Classical, Rapid, and Blitz categories.

In 2019, she played in two FIDE tournaments but could not gain any rating. But that brought a silver lining for her when she trained under EP Nirmal, former coach of Nihal Sarin. While everyone was locked in their house during the pandemic, Kalyani dedicated 5-6 hours to her chess training. It was time to test her training knowledge in a chess tournament when she participated in her first open tournament in Hyderabad in 2021. All her efforts paid off when she earned her first rating of 1312 it. After that, she trained under GM Stany GA who is still her coach after recommended by Nirmal sir himself.

Apart from refining Kalyani’s gameplay, Stany has been successful in transforming her entire thought process. He always emphasized improving game strength rather than ratings. His philosophy is participating in stronger international tournaments to gain more exposure than chasing ratings. He encourages her to participate in at least one FIDE tournament every month. Her coach’s mantra worked as she achieved 6th place in the National U-12 Girls Championship.

“Once I enhance my skills, the rating will follow naturally.” – Kalyani’s playing approach in one line.

Under Stany’s guidance, Kalyani prefers to play in the open section. This helps her interact with GMs and IMs and learn from them. She enjoys analyzing her games after playing against stronger players. This is exactly what Judit Polgar did which helped her reach where she is today. Kalyani has also started attending IM Saravanan’s training camps after insisted by Stany.

“I am incredibly grateful to have such supportive coaches who are always committed to my progress and success.” – Kalyani specifically mentioned.

Though Kalyani’s main focus is to improve strength than rating, she naturally wanted to earn a title. After achieving the title of ‘Woman Fide Master’, the Kerala prodigy was extremely happy! Some of the many achievements of Kalyani are as follows:

Kalyani has always bounced back after facing setbacks in her tournaments. Be it her performance in the World Juniors this year or the recent Commonwealth Tournament, she has scored impressive victories even after she had difficult initial rounds. The only thing she cares about the most is managing her emotions, not the result. This approach has helped her overcome the fear of facing higher-rated opponents – a draw with GM Pranesh at the National Team Tournament 2022 is a testimony of that. Kalyani gives her coach the credit for this.

“He calls me every day during tournaments, especially if I have lost, to strengthen my mental resilience.” - Kalyani Sirin shared.

Balancing chess and studies is not an easy task. But Kalyani manages to do it perfectly. She is currently in the 9th standard at KKTM School in Kodungallur. Her school has been very supportive by allowing her to leave for tournaments. She attends the school only for exams as academics is not what she is fully focusing on right now. She prefers studying chess books every day and refining her skills. Usually after every class, her coach recommends her specific chess book to read and work on.

The young prodigy’s parents play an indispensable role in her journey. They have always relied on her coaches’ guidance for her future. However, supporting a chess career can be quite an adventure. For all chess kids, their parent’s role goes beyond mere encouragement. It’s a financially demanding career that requires traveling and training expenses. Kalyani’s parents are very dedicated to her career. They have planned over Rs.25 lakhs for her expenses in 2025. To meet these costs, they have even taken out a property loan. Despite her parents working salaried jobs, their combined income still falls short of fully covering her expenses. They are now seeking a sponsor to support her journey.

“Since Kalyani is so passionate and hardworking, I want to support her as much as possible.” – Kalyani’s father

Kalyani’s father works at RM Education with a flexible, hybrid schedule. This allows him to accompany Kalyani to various tournaments. Kalyani’s mother works at GHS Kuzhur and the school supports her by granting leave so that she can accompany Kalyani to international tournaments. Both the parents expressed their gratitude to their workplaces for their understanding and support. Not only this, but they also expressed their thanks to the Chess Association of Kerala for always helping Kalyani to achieve her dreams.

Kalyani’s journey is proof of dedication and hard work. She reminds us all of the courage it takes to pursue something wholeheartedly. She inspires us to believe that no dream is too far if we chase it with enough passion and purpose. We hope more young players like her will chase their dreams with the same resilience and inspire others along the way!

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A chess prodigy to watch out for - David Lacan-Rus from France @ 20/07/2024 by Rasika Ratnaparkhi (en)