Mumbai lad Dev Shah is world schools chess champ

The youngest Indian ever to become a rated chess player, seven-year-old Dev Shah from Mumbai, has become the world champion in the Under-7 category in the World Schools Chess Championships that concluded at Juiz de Fora in Brazil recently

The youngest Indian ever to become a rated chess player, seven-year-old Dev Shah from Mumbai, has become the world champion in the Under-7 category in the World Schools Chess Championships that concluded at Juiz de Fora in Brazil recently.


Dev Shah 

Dev, who trains at the South Mumbai Chess Academy and is a student of the Dhrubhai Ambani School, was among three boys who scored the highest score — 7.5 points out of 9 — to tie with Ochirbat Lkhahvajamts of Mongolia and Sindarov Islombek of Uzbekistan.

The Mumbai boy was ruled the victor on account of a better aggregate score, according to a press release.

With this championship win, he also qualified to hold the title of Candidate Master awarded by world chess body FIDE, with a current international Rating of 1448, the release added.

Dev's journey into the chess world started when he was barely three.

As a four-year-old kid, when children of his age barely have any dreams he wanted to be a chess player, reveals his mother Krupali.

As a five-year-old, he won two gold medals (in classical format and the rapid format) in the U-6 category at the 2012 Asian Schools Chess Championship in New Delhi. Since, then he hasn't looked back.

Last year, in the Asian Youth Chess Championship, Sri Lanka he won the silver medal in the U-6 category.

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