NEW DELHI: The time on the clock had slipped well past midnight. In a quiet Chennai apartment, a lone pool of light from a laptop screen cut through the darkness. A mother sat upright, eyes fixed on the glowing squares of an online chessboard, tracking her teenage son’s tense battle thousands of kilometres away in another time zone.That son is Rohith Krishna S, the 19-year-old who, earlier this week, sealed his place in history as India’s 89th Grandmaster, winning his final Grandmaster (GM) norm at the Almaty Region Open Qonaev Cup with an unbeaten 6/9 score on Tuesday.“I had to sacrifice a lot… There were times when he was playing tournaments on the opposite side of the world… the time zones didn’t match at all, so I spent many sleepless nights watching his games,” says Rohith’s mother, Vidhya, who is a veterinarian by profession and mother of two. “We also couldn’t go on any vacations due to him constantly travelling abroad for tournaments.”
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Rohith’s reaction to the feat, however, remains modest.“When I finished the last game and realised I had done it, I felt really happy,” Rohith tells TimesofIndia.com from Abu Dhabi, where he is participating in the 31st Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival. “It had been a long journey, and I knew it was just a matter of time before I became a GM. But I never thought about it during my games; I just focused on playing well.”
The call that had everyone waiting
Neither of his parents was present at the venue when their son attained his final GM norm. “Rohith called his mother,” his father, Sudhahar, recalls with a smile. “So, she called me and informed me that Rohith had finally achieved the norm and completed the formalities.”The joy was mixed with relief. “Yeah, I was very happy and relaxed,” says his mother. “Relaxed means very peaceful… I felt very, very complete. I don’t know how to express my feelings. I was very happy.”
Mokshitha, sister, Vidhya, mother, Rohith, and his father Sudhahar, from left to right (Special Arrangements)
Rohith had known this was coming.“After my second norm in Dubai, I was confident. I didn’t feel too much pressure for the last one. In the final round, I knew a draw was enough, but I played aggressively and won,” he says.
A journey that began with a grandmother’s game
At the age of eight, the family enrolled Rohith in extracurricular activities at SIP Academy. Chess was one of the options.“We said, you can choose any two so you can spend your time with your friend. So, he went to the drawing class, and he went to the chess class too. He preferred chess,” his father recalls.There was also a deeper family link: his maternal grandmother and his mother, who had once been a university champion.“I first learnt chess from my grandmother and my cousin,” says Rohith, who is currently coached by one of Chennai’s finest chess minds, FM Visweswaran Kameswaran. “I used to play chess on the Windows 7 computer. At first, I just wanted to beat the computer; that was my initial motivation.”
Holidays traded for tournaments
While other families planned vacations, the Krishnas were booking tickets to far-off cities: Belgrade, Dubai, Tashkent, Almaty.“He has to travel for a lot of tournaments. So, basically, we will not have family holidays most of the time. Leaving the boy alone and going for holidays doesn’t help us. And when he is going for any tournament, we cannot plan it as a holiday too,” Sudhahar says.From 2019 onwards, international travel became constant. “One of us had to travel with him, especially abroad. I had to take some holidays… We have to plan all his logistics, like travel, coach, accommodation, visa. All these things.”Since turning 18, though, Rohith has started travelling solo to tournaments across the world. His parents still handle the behind-the-scenes work, from booking stays and arranging transport to ensuring his safety.
The cost of chasing a dream
Initially, the family bore most of the expenses for domestic events, foreign trips, and even the coach’s travel. “One trip to Europe will definitely cost you more,” his father says.They reinvested every prize cheque back into tournaments.“For example, in 2023, he won a few tournaments. The prize money also, we used for the entire year,” says Sudhahar, who is a consultant for a German footwear brand.
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The turning point came when he was selected for Tamil Nadu’s MIMS (Mission International Medals Scheme), which provided financial assistance for international tournaments.“It helped us a lot to relieve the burden. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have played so many tournaments,” his father says.
Managing studies and chess
The family offered him the option to take a break after Class 12 to focus entirely on chess.“But it was his choice,” Sudhahar continues. “He actually felt the pressure after joining college… But he is managing it so well that he has now got all the GM norms.”Rohith, who is currently pursuing Computer Science at Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering in Tamil Nadu, admits that balancing engineering and chess hasn’t been easy. “Sometimes I have to miss college for tournaments, and sometimes I have to miss tournaments for exams. But I love both: chess and coding. They’re both about problem-solving.”
A proud present, a hopeful future
Now that the GM title is his, the family is dreaming bigger. “See, when, as a young boy, he had a dream to be a Super GM… He also wanted to go for higher studies. He believes he is also underrated… If everything goes well, he can achieve his dream,” says Sudhahar.Rohith is already looking ahead. “My next goal is to reach a 2600 rating, and my long-term plan is to become world champion,” he says.ALSO READ: Watching Magnus Carlsen at 2: How 5-year-old Aarini Lahoty became India’s No. 1 among youngest chess talentsOn paper, the title reads: Grandmaster Rohith Krishna S, India’s 89th.But between the lines is another title — one shared by his parents, who have been champions in their own right, fighting every logistical, financial, and emotional battle so that their son could stand where he does today.
