A chess virtuoso who until recently would make do with her father’s mobile phone to study tactics has just won the U-9 national championship for girls. Sneha Halder, 9, did not own a laptop which is considered to be the most significant accessory in competitive chess. A charitable organisation donated her a laptop a couple of months ago.
Her father had enrolled for coaching in a neighbourhood back in 2014. Now she trains at Dibyendu Barua’s academy in Ballygaunge and at another one in Kalighat.
The little one says, “I was a bit nervous towards the end but somehow pulled through”. Sneha spends six hours a day practicing chess. The 9-year old admits she doesn’t like studying much. Her father is worried much about her travelling expenses more than her studies as the help they get from the organisers and the chess federation is not enough. Sneha had earlier proved her prowess by wining various championships from U-9 Bengal Championship in Howrah to all India FIDE-rated tournament in Pune earlier this year.
