Ratshikaa, Sharvaanica’s elder sister, learned chess at school and needed a competitor. For 10-year-old Sharvaanica, everything began there. “I really liked the pieces and how they moved,” recalls Sharvaanica’s with a smile. Her father noticed her talent and her mother found a local coach, Sasikumar. Before she knew, the chessboard became her world.
Sharvaanica entered her first tournament within a month and won. The trophy was almost her size. “I told everyone I wanted to fill the house with cups,” she laughs. That dream has since come true many times over. She is now studying at Velammal School in Chennai, which recognised her talent early and offered full scholarships to both sisters for their education. Her days are a balance of school, study and strategy sessions, all leading up to her dream of becoming one of the youngest Grandmasters from India. She now trains under GM Shyam Sundar.
Sacrifices behind the wide smiles
Behind her victories and smiles, her family works hard to keep going. Starting from coaching to attending every game, they either plan on a mortgage or loan. Her sister plays a prominent role in her life. She sets aside her own dream of becoming an IAS and joined the workforce while pursuing her graduation. Also, to understand and navigate the media landscape, Ratshikaa acts as Sharvaanica’s unofficial PR manager. And behind the screen, she is the quiet force. “We would wake up before sunrise, finish schoolwork, practice chess, travel to tournaments, and start over the next day. It was never easy. But Sharvaanica never once said she was tired,” tells her mother Anburoja.
Recent Victory
In one of her recent games at the FIDE World Cadet Chess Championship in Kazakhstan that happened in September 2025, a first-round loss to a Mongolian opponent, Nandinjiguur Chinzorig, shattered Sharvaanica. Her position dropped to the 107th spot. But with resilience, she bounced back and fought match after match. In the eighth round, she competed with Nandinjiguur Chinzorig again. A tie-break was announced, “She told us she wanted gold,” says her mother with pride. Later, the tie-break rule favoured Sharvaanica with a head-to-head match. The gold was hers. After 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.
Sharvaanica scored 11 out of 11 in the U-7 National Chess Chamiponship held at Ahmedabad in Gujarat and in Asia, she also won 23 out of 23 in Srilanka. Chessbase India calls her the “100 per cent girl of Indian chess.” She also got the second youngest WCM title achiever in world with ELO points 1915 in U-9. Among all her achievements, one memory stands out, meeting her idol: Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. “He was so humble and he sat with her for more than an hour discussing her games and analysing her moves,” Anburoja recalls. Sharvaanica hopes to face Viswanathan Anand and Gukesh Dommaraju across the board one day.
Looking ahead, Sharvaanica wants to become world’s youngest women world champion and also wants to raise her Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) rating and compete against International Masters and Grandmasters.