"I want to become the first chess player in the world to cross the 3000 Elo points barrier" - 12-year-old chess talent Aansh Nerurkar

Aansh Nerurkar, a 12-year-old student currently in the seventh grade at Orchids The International School in Borivali, is quickly establishing his name in the world of chess.

With an impressive ELO rating of 2236, Aansh became the first Indian to win at the prestigious International Prague Chess Tournament in the Futures category. He is now gearing up to participate in the upcoming Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival 2024 and will also be battling it out at the forthcoming World Chess Championship.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Aansh Nerurkar opened up about his journey and the challenges he faces while balancing academics and chess. He also talked about his future aspirations and how he hopes to be the first chess player in the world to cross the 3000 Elo points barrier.

Q: How did you get into the sport of chess? What drew you towards it?

Aansh Nerurkar: When I was around six years old, my mother initially introduced me to chess. At that point in time, I was fascinated by animals. I like the shapes of the pieces, specifically the bishop and knight. That was the start of my chess journey.

Slowly, I started participating in local tournaments, learning different types of openings, understanding what different strategies were to be implemented in middle and end games, etc. My interest in chess increased during COVID times, as chess was one of the games that was played physically on the board as well as via online modes.

Q: Which other sports apart from chess do you enjoy playing or watching?

Aansh Nerurkar: I like playing football, apart from chess. I am currently training with the West Mumbai Football Club. I also love watching the English Premier League in football, and Manchester United is my favorite team as of now.

Q: Everything comes with its challenges; what are some of the challenges you have encountered or face even right now?

Aansh Nerurkar: Balancing my studies, chess preparations, and tournament schedule are tough tasks for me. With the help of my parents, school teachers, and principal, I am managing it, but it remains one of the biggest challenges.

Q: How has your family’s support been?

Aansh Nerurkar: My family is always there to provide support in my chess journey. Mostly both my father and my mother travel with me during my tournaments. Their traveling with me provides a lot of comfort and motivation. They always motivate me whenever any of my games are drawn or lost. Whenever I lose games, they always tell me to trust myself and to look forward to the preparation of the next game.

Q: Balancing academics and intense training requires dedication; how do you manage it effectively?

Aansh Nerurkar: Yes, it sometimes became difficult to manage both academics and chess training. But my parents help me in terms of time management.

Usually, during non-tournament times, I focus more on academics and comparatively less on chess training. While during tournaments, I focus fully on my chess preparations. My school teachers and principal help me catch up on my studies and homework, which I miss during tournament times.

Q: You already have an ELO rating of 2236. How proud are you of this achievement?

Aansh Nerurkar: I am very proud of my ELO Rating of 2236. During the start of 2024, I set a target of getting a lifetime title in chess by June 2024, as I was around 350 Elo points away from becoming a titled player at that point in time. I am very happy that I crossed the Elo points requirement for getting a “Title” in March 2024 and got a “Candidate Master (CM)” Title from FIDE in April 2024.

Also, I understand that since my aim is to cross the 3000 Elo points barrier, it is still a long way to go from 2236 ELO to 3001 Elo. I am very proud of my wins in the Prague International Chess Tournament by scoring eight points out of nine and in the National U-11 Championship in Vishakhapatnam, where I scored 10 points out of 11.

Q: What are your future aspirations?

Aansh Nerurkar: I want to become the first chess player in the world to cross the 3000 Elo points barrier during my chess journey. As of now, current World No. 1 player and world champion Magnus Carlsen has climbed up to 2884 EL0 points rating in chess.

Q: Who are your idols in chess?

Aansh Nerurkar: Among Indian chess players, I like GM Vidit Gujarati from India. I like his defensive style of playing. He is playing in the Fide Candidates tournament in Canada right now, and he has beaten World No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura twice in this tournament with his defensive style of play.

Among other chess players across the world, I like GM Daniel Dubov from Russia. I like his creative style of playing chess, as his playing is not dependent on opening theory. I still remember his queen sacrifice and emphatic win over GM Sergie Karjakin in the Russian Superfinals a couple of years ago. I wanted to develop this creative and defensive way of playing chess in the future like both chess players.