NEW DELHI: “Main pal do pal ka shaayar hoon, pal do pal meri kahaani hai. (I am a poet of a moment or two, my story is of a moment or two)” Scrolling through Gaurav Varshney’s social media feed, one can easily notice posts where the father of India’s 92nd Grandmaster (GM), Aaryan Varshney, flaunts his melodious voice with popular, nostalgic Bollywood lines, an infectious smile always present on his face.Going by the joyfulness of those posts, it gets difficult to guess that this is the same man who has single-handedly raised the game’s latest headline-grabber since the grandmaster was a preschooler.
“His mother left us when he was five. My parents and I have taken care of our boy since then,” Gaurav, who is a Post Graduate Teacher in Physics in Delhi, told TimesofIndia during an exclusive conversation.On Thursday, 21-year-old Aaryan clinched his final GM norm after winning the Andranik Margaryan Memorial in Armenia, and that too with a round to spare. With this, he became the seventh player from the national capital to attain the GM title.“Our whole family is very happy. My parents are also very happy. All of us tried a lot to get my son to this position,” his father added.While his father sees the title as a stepping stone for something bigger, the story so far has been far from conventional.How it all started at homeGaurav’s association with chess goes back to his own school and college days.“I used to play chess in my school and college days. I had an interest in chess, but I didn’t know about all this system then,” he said.“I had a desire in my heart that if I don’t become a great player, I have to make my son a great player.”That resolve became a way of life when Aaryan turned seven.
Aaryan Varshney’s father a guiding force for his son (Special Arrangements)
With his father turning coach, the grind kicked off without books, engines and mentors.“When my son was seven years old, I started training him at home. It took me about two years to train him at home,” he recalled. “When my son turned 9, I took my son to play in a chess tournament for the first time in December 2014.”“It was his first tournament in his life. His rating was 1261 at that time,” Gaurav said, referring to the old rating system that began at 1000.“And in his very first tournament, his rating increased.”No coach, no shortcuts There have been no chess academies, no foreign camps, and no expensive trainers in Aaryan’s chess journey. He had a strict and disciplined father.“My son has no coach till dare. My son will probably be the first person to become a grandmaster without a coach,” he said with some palpable pride.Explaining his method of training, Gaurav added, “We used the ChessBase software only and focused on openings. He learned by playing games, and I analysed each and every game of Aaryan, whether it was a win or a loss. We used to analyse for hours.”
Aaryan has never read a chess book. Our main knowledge base was to play more and more.
Aaryan Varshney’s father, Gaurav
He continued, “You will be surprised that Aaryan has never read a chess book. Our main knowledge base was to play more and more. Chess is not a study. This is a game. Play and learn.”By July 2018, less than four years after his first tournament, Aaryan’s rating had jumped from 1261 to 2309.That same month, at the National Under-13 Championship in Ahmedabad, he announced himself nationally, having won the title convincingly.“In July 2018, my son became the National Under-13 Chess Champion. My son defeated all of them,” Gaurav said.Obstacles along the wayIf you think it has been a smooth sail for the youngster, that is not the case. His two IM norms came in 2019. Then the world shut down.“In 2020 and 2021, COVID came. If these two years had not been wasted, he would have become IM very soon,” Gaurav said, further stating that all five IM norms achieved by Aaryan have come from playing in open-category tournaments, which is another rare case.There were deeper struggles too.“I was a single parent and only earner,” added Gaurav, who also takes care of his aged parents, Ram Gopal Varshney and Gayatri Devi. “I could not leave my job and take my child out of India.”
Aaryan with his grandparents (Special Arrangements)
Remarkably, Aaryan, who is currently pursuing Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Delhi University, became an International Master (in 2024) without ever playing in Europe.With no reliance on expensive models or big spending on chess coaches, money is not something Aaryan has ever had to worry about.“People spend Rs 50,000 or Rs 1 lakh per month on coaches. I didn’t take any coach. I never took my son to Europe,” he said. “My son never asked for it, and because he also knows I had responsibilities.”Eyes fixed on the very topOnce Aaryan crossed the IM hurdle in August 2024, things moved at breathtaking speed.“It took him only one year and six months to become a Grandmaster,” Gaurav added.Three GM norms came in just six months in Greece, Bangladesh and now Armenia.“I am going to search whether taking three GM norms in six months is a world record or not,” he added with a laugh.READ ALSO: World champion at 7 in her first international event; ‘nervous’ while meeting PM Modi: How Pragnika Lakshmi became a chess prodigyBut what lies ahead?“I asked my son about his future dream,” Gaurav said, with excitement felt in his voice. “He told me two dreams. First, he wants to become a World Champion. Second, in the coming time, if there is a match against Gukesh, he wants to defeat Gukesh. He has drawn two games and lost one against Gukesh. Now, he wants to beat him.”It is an audacious dream, but then again, so was becoming a Grandmaster without a coach, without Europe, and with just a father’s belief as the foundation. Sometimes, a story really is only “pal do pal ki kahaani”. And sometimes, it changes the entire script.
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