09 February,2014 11:42 AM IST | | Sundari Iyer
Malad’s Vibgyor school champ, who is set to represent India at the World and Asian Youth c’ships, wins all five rounds in the U-5 to U-8 category of Chess Kumbh competition
Participants compete in the Chess Kumbh at the Kohinoor International School, Kurla on Saturday and (inset) Aditya Mittal. Pics/Atul Kamble
Mumbai: All of seven, Aditya Mittal of Vibgyor High School (Malad) had a great start to the two-day Chess Kumbh, (an under-16 state level championship) at Kohinoor International School, Kurla on Saturday.
Participants compete in the Chess Kumbh at the Kohinoor International School, Kurla on Saturday and (inset) Aditya Mittal. Pics/Atul Kamble
He won all the five rounds in the Under-5 to Under-8 category. What's more, Aditya, a Class II student, will represent India at the World Youth Championships in Durban (South Africa) and in the Asian Youth Championships in Tashkent later this year.
Aditya is the reigning U-7 national champion with a FIDE rating of 1531. He aims to emulate chess icon Viswanathan Anand. "Anand sir is somebody who I want to be like when I grow up. My current aim is to become a Grand Master by 11," he said.
"The best memory of my life was playing against Anand sir during a promotional event at Gurgaon in 2011 when I had just started playing chess," added Aditya, who began playing chess at four-and-a-half.
The youngster is currently unable to walk as he met with an accident last April and had a femur fracture (an injury to the thigh bone) to his right leg. "Chess is an indoor sport so I can practice as much as I want, but I miss playing cricket," Aditya said.
