Guwahati: Meet this 14 year old from North East India who has now become the first-ever International Chess Master from the region.
Shahil Dey was awarded as the International Master norm at the GM Round Robin Tournament held in Serbia that was held from 5 to 8 February 2021.
He was trained by the grandmaster RB Ramesh. Shahil has also got a scholarship called “Pursue Your Chess” worth Rs 75000 announced by the Chess Base India Foundation last year which aims at helping talented chess players held back by financial constraints.
Shahil represented India in Asian youth, South Korea in the year 2015, and also was able to secure the silver. In 2016, in Asian Youth, Mongolia he took the bronze home, and finally in the 2019 edition of Asian Youth held in Sri Lanka Shahil managed to bring the gold home. Shahil has also been awarded the National Child Award from the President of India for his great achievements in chess.
Presently, Shahil is the highest-rated player in North East India with a rating of 2473. It’s such a cheering moment for the Chess community.
The limelight of the event was the achievements he accomplished during his wins over formidable chess players. Throughout the tournament, he defeated players with higher ratings such as Grand Master Hans Niemann, whose ELO rating is 2525. Also, he ended with a second-place above the likes of GM Kosic Dragan, GM Atalik Suat, and IM Ratkovic Milovan.
The boy from Assam has been making waves in the Chess community and is currently being coached by International Master Roktim Bandyopadhyay in Kolkata.