
In a quiet corner of a tournament hall in Kazhakstan, a 10-year-old from Tamil Nadu sat diligently across the chessboard. Her first game at the World Cadet Chess Championship 2025 ended in a loss. For a moment, her heart sank. Then, Sharvaanica AS remembered her vow to Lord Muruga. She straightened her pieces, whispered a prayer, and smiled.
As reported by Diya Maria George of The New Indian Express, what followed was a stunning climb, nine consecutive victories. In the final round, she faced a tough loss against America’s Zhou Abigail, but her work was already done. Finishing with nine points out of 11, she was tied with Mongolia’s Nandinjiguur Chinzorig. The tiebreak, their direct encounter, went to Sharvaanica, who had won their eighth-round match, securing her the gold medal.
Among nearly 30 Indian contenders, she was the sole title-winner. With this victory, Sharvaanica became the third Indian girl to claim the World Under-10 crown, following in the footsteps of Grandmasters Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh.
From small town to world stage
Hailing from Udayarpalayam, a small town in Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district, Sharvaanica’s world is far removed from the international chess circuit. Her journey is financed by a collage of family sacrifices.
Her mother, Anburoja, recalls the seed of this dream. “She would say, ‘I will win a medal for India’,” she says. “We would all laugh. ‘You have just started learning... and you are already saying things like this?’ But she was adamant.”
The pandemic period ignited the prodigy’s passion. With a new chess set and two months of coaching from a local master, her focus became all-consuming. Anburoja, who held an MSc and ran a tuition centre, gave up her career. “We didn’t know it was such a costly field,” she admits.
The family took loans, mortgaged what they could, to keep her dream alive.
Sharvaanica’s entire existence now revolves around the 64 squares. “All her entertainment, it is only in chess,” her mother says. “She plays Blitz, online she plays Rapid, she analyses games...she cannot even think beyond it. She thinks only about chess.”
This dedication has forged a record so brilliant it seems fictional. Dubbed the “100% girl of Indian chess” by Chessbase India, she once scored a perfect 11/11 in a national championship. At just nine, she became the youngest female player in India’s history to cross 2049 Elo points — a milestone reached years earlier than renowned Grandmasters like R Vaishali.
A family’s gambit
The reality behind the global title is a story of sacrifice. Before the championship, their pilgrimage to the Tiruttani Murugan temple saw them travelling on a train, sitting on the floor, with Sharvaanica curled on her mother’s lap. A day later, a state-provided police car escorted her to the airport, added TNIE.
Behind the girl who thinks only of chess stands a family thinking only of her. The burden is shared collectively. Her father and grandfather, from a weaving background, contribute from field work. Most poignant is the role of her eldest sister, Ratchika, who sidelined her own ambition to study for the IAS, has entered the workforce while doing her graduation. Her earnings fuel her sister’s dreams, and she acts as Sharvaanica’s unofficial PR manager, navigating a media landscape the family finds baffling. “We don’t know anything, whom to meet, whom to go and see,” their mother admits.
Checkered path ahead
When asked about her favourite players, Sharvaanica shares, “I like Magnus Carlsen very much. Among Indian players, I like Viswanathan Anand.” She dreams of matches against them all, especially with Gukesh D.
Back home, the district collector and SP celebrated the girl who put Ariyalur on the map. But the celebration rings hollow against the financial uncertainty. “For Sharvaanica, a big level sponsorship has not been received yet,” Anburoja states.
Recognition comes easily after victory, but real support does not always follow. The assistance extended to Sharvaanica often stops with her — rarely does it include her mother, who must travel with her everywhere. Because beneath the gold medal and the global title, Sharvaanica is still a ten-year-old, born in 2015, studying in class 5.
Her schooling at Velammal keeps her anchored. The institution supports her chess dreams, ensuring that she can chase titles without losing her footing in academics. Despite missing her classes during tournaments, she always returns to write her exams.
The police escort to the airport is a fading memory. The reality is planning the next train journey. For Sharvaanica, the world title is not a finish line but a checkpoint. The family’s strategy for the next tournament is already being mapped out, not on a chessboard, but through loan calculations, her sister’s paycheck, and the quiet hope that a sponsor might call. Yet, like Sharvaanica, they hold on to faith — that the deal she made with Murugan will see them through.
Those wishing to support Sharvaanica’s chess journey can reach out to her mother, Anburoja, at 9952835616.