Interest in chess reached a high point in the country recently when D Gukesh became world champion by defeating Ding Liren in the 2024 FIDE World Championship. Other young players like Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali are also making steady progress towards greatness. We spoke to upcoming players in Goa to find out what makes them tick.
The Start: When Ethan was six, his parents brought a chess set for him and his brother Edrick. Ethan was determined to defeat his dad, and one day he finally won in a game that ended at 11:30 that night. As the kids started showing more interest in the game, formal chess coaching was considered. After just eight months of coaching, Ethan represented Goa and won an award at the Under-7 National Chess Championships 2018 at Tumkur, Karnataka, in the Open category contested by 214 players representing their respective States. From then on, there was no looking back. His parents have backed him with his father travelling with him to all the competitions.
The Preparation: Earlier he used to go for regular coaching at a chess academy but things changed after he became an IM. Now his routine involves more of self motivated activities.
Future Plans: Ethan says, “I want to become a Grandmaster as soon as possible and will continue working hard to achieve my dream of becoming a World Chess Champion”.
Gaining knowledge: Ethan says, ”Chess involves a lot of theory, and requires a lot of practice too. One can prepare some opening theory, but after the initial few moves it boils down to practical skills because one cannot really plan in advance how the game would turn out. Practising tactics and endgames helps, but you cannot prepare those for a specific game as such. Deep knowledge is essential, but more important is practice. In chess, there's always more that one can learn and improve on. So it's a continuous effort to keep getting better and better”.
Ethan Vaz
He is undoubtedly the brightest star in the chess world of Goa. He achieved the IM title at 12 yrs and 4 months of age.Ethan is the world’s youngest IM between Jan 3rd and 30th June, and currently the youngest IM in India.
Priyank Gaonkar is seven. Don’t be fooled by his childish face. He is a killer on the chess board. He is now part of the India squad for the next age group World Cup to be held in Georgia. He won the silver medal in the 37th u-7 National Chess Championship. He has also qualified for the u-8 Asian and World Chess Championship in addition to the Commonwealth chess championship.
The start: Priyank’s chess journey began at the age of 4, when he was inspired by a cartoon featuring characters playing chess. The COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 provided the perfect opportunity for Priyank to start his chess journey, and his parents enrolled him in online chess classes. He quickly mastered the fundamentals and developed a deep passion for chess. As his interest and skills grew, his parents recognised his potential and enrolled him in offline chess classes at the Goa Chess Guru Academy, where he trained under the expert supervision of Prakash Vikram Singh and the help provided by his parents Pradeep Gaonkar and Priyanka Gaonkar.
The Preparation: Priyank dedicates 4 to 5 hours daily to his chess practice.
Gaining Knowledge: Priyank says, “My approach to studying chess openings is a blend of structured coaching and self-driven practice. Under the guidance of coach Prakash Vikram Singh, I learn key openings and strategies, which are essential for success in competitive chess. Additionally, I sharpen my skills by solving puzzles online and working through exercises provided by my coach. This allows me to develop my tactical skills and understanding of various opening strategies”.
Future Plans: Prayank has set ambitious goals for the future, with the dream of
becoming the youngest International Master (IM) and Grand Master (GM) of India by the age
of 11.
The Start: Joshua, who will turn 11 in August, started playing chess during the Covid break. He had nothing much to do apart and so he downloaded chess app on his phone and started playing. His mother noticed his interest and looked around for a coach. She found a centre near the house in Gogol and he played there. He won a trophy in the first tournament he participated in. Years later, his younger brother Evan won that award too in his first tournament. Evan would accompany his brother to the various tournaments and watch him win them and come home with trophies. That got him interested and he trains with the same coach as his brother. He is in the second standard and is blazing his own path that marks him out as someone special. Evan’s recent triumph at the 3rd Goa International Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament 2025 further solidified his reputation. Competing in Category B and C, he dominated the U-7 age group, securing first place in both categories. The parents are proud of their achievements and hope they continue in the same vein
The Preparation: Joshua practises one to two hours a day because as his mother puts it the demands of education cannot be ignored. He does it after he returns from school at 4 o clock. On holidays it goes up to three hours. She says as long as the kids are doing well in school and enjoying it and playing well in chess they have no problems.
Gaining Knowledge:
Joshua learns from his coach, Prakash Singh. A student of fifth standard, he wants to play more but that means he would have to learn to balance his demands at school and chess ambitions.
Future Plans: Both the boys have won tournaments in the State and like the feeling and want to achieve more nationally and internationally. Evan’s dreams are as big as his talent. He says “I want to become a Grandmaster like Magnus Carlsen.”
Evan and Joshua Telles
They are the deadly duo who are considered special in the chess circle. Joshua has won State level competitions regularly and Evan is known for being the youngest Goan chess player to earn FIDE international ratings in all three formats (Standard, Rapid, and Blitz).