Aaryan Varshney becomes India’s latest International Master, gives credit to his father

by Rasika Ratnaparkhi - 20/11/2024

One of the most satisfying aspects of the chess world is knowing a player’s journey. Almost every day, we see fresh headlines about young chess players making history. While the older generation inspires the young generation, chess prodigies are now inspiring players of all ages. Aaryan Varshney, a young chess prodigy, recently achieved the International Master title. The hero behind Aaryan’s success is his father, Gaurav Varshney, who was a passionate chess player in his college days. From dreaming about his son becoming a world-class player to actually achieving it, Gaurav supported Aaryan like a parent, a friend, and most importantly, a coach! Read the inspiring story of how Aaryan became an International Master. It’s a story that will surely inspire you to be a part of his success.

A Shared Journey of Sacrifices and Dreams

The journey of a chess player is often about their sacrifices and hard work, more than winning games or tournaments. What makes this journey most remarkable is that they are not alone. It’s a shared journey between their parents, friends, and coaches. Aaryan Varshney’s journey is truly an inspiring one! His closest partner in this journey is his father, Gaurav Varshney. Gaurav supports Aaryan like a dedicated parent, motivates him like a best friend, and trains him like a professional coach.

An old interview with Aaryan's father, Gaurav Varshney about their journey

Gaurav was a very passionate chess player in his college days. Though he was not aware of the titles, ratings, and norms, he always dreamed of his son achieving something extraordinary in chess. He introduced the game to Aaryan when he was seven years old.

I never knew about ratings or titles like CM, FM, IM, or GM back then. But it was my dream to make my son a world-class chess player.

Since then, Aaryan learned the game very quickly. By the age of eight, he could draw with his father, and by nine, he started winning against him. No doubt his father felt proud after every loss! He took this opportunity to enter Aaryan into the competitive world of chess.

Aaryan won the 32nd National Under-13 (Open) Chess Championship 2018

Aaryan played his first tournament and to his surprise, he earned his first FIDE rating in that very event. His draws with two rated players Kaamya Negi and Shashi Raj Saxena earned him his first rating of 1261. This was his small step in the long journey of becoming an International Master.

Aaryan won the 2nd Noida Rapid Rating Open 2024

Aaryan climbed from 1261 to 2300 within three and a half years. According to his father, it was the “golden period” of Aaryan’s career. He earned the title of FIDE Master in 2018. After six years of relentless effort, Aaryan finally achieved his International Master title with a live rating of 2395.

This journey was not easy for either of us. It was a great moment for our family - Gaurav shared after recalling all the sacrifices.

One of the most critical decisions for Aaryan and his father was to focus on tournaments within India rather than international ones. The reason was the financial constraints as Gaurav is the sole breadwinner of their family. Moreover, Aaryan was too small to travel alone, so his father accompanied him most of the time. This affected Gaurav’s job significantly as he often had to take unpaid leave. Regardless of this, both of them accepted the challenges and continued to work towards their shared dream. Their efforts bore fruit as Aaryan kept succeeding in tournaments. Tata Steel sponsored him for one year, which provided a big boost to Aaryan’s career.

Aaryan's interview after winning the IIFLW 2018-19

Gaurav is a physics teacher but not many people would believe that he has been Aaryan’s sole coach to date. At the start of Aaryan’s career, Gaurav was very strict about not allowing him to play outside and insisted he focus only on chess. Aaryan later realized that because of this discipline, his focus never diverted from chess. Aaryan works very hard to solve different puzzles and positions with his father. Even after the tournament is over, you would see them analyzing games and identifying mistakes.

My father played a very vital role in my chess journey. It was almost impossible without him to achieve such heights in chess. I saw the pain that he took for me in his entire life. There was one moment when his job was in danger because he used to travel a lot with me everywhere. – Aaryan shared his thoughts

A tough period for Aaryan came when he was stuck at 2300. He lost many games with black pieces and lost a significant amount of ratings. Like any good coach, Gaurav studied Aaryan’s game and discovered that he struggled with the Sicilian defense with black pieces. They worked together and decided to try Ruy Lopez instead of Sicilian and interestingly, it proved to be the right decision. Aaryan was no longer losing with black pieces.

Aaryan won the Om Banna Memorial Lakecity Rapid Rating Open 2021 | Photo: IA Deepak Chavan/Chess in Lakecity

Gaurav also acknowledged the support from his parents and sisters in Aaryan’s journey. As mentioned by Aaryan in an old interview, his grandparents accompanied him to tournaments whenever his father could not. For a chess kid, it’s always a huge relief when their school understands their goal and supports them to achieve it. Aaryan’s school ‘Bal Bharati Public School’ was one of the pillars of strength to him. Previous secretary of the Delhi Chess Association, Ajeet Kumar Verma, and Deputy President of the Asian Chess Federation, Bharat Singh Chauhan also supported and motivated Aaryan in his journey. He also received guidance and help from Sagar Shah from time to time.

Though Aaryan has achieved one milestone of becoming an International Master, his ultimate goal is to become a super grandmaster and continue to make his father proud. Gaurav believes that Aaryan should compete in international tournaments to achieve his GM title. However, this next step requires huge expenses and Aaryan will need sponsorships to make it a reality.

Check out the insane calculation by Aaryan

Currently, Aaryan is pursuing a degree in arts from Delhi University with his main focus is to become a professional chess player. Gaurav hopes that Aaryan will complete his post-graduation and remain dedicated to chess. He wants Aaryan to stay close to chess, be it as a professional player or by starting his own academy. Well, if Aaryan starts his own academy in the future, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his father coaching other students there!

Aaryan with his father Gaurav Varshney | Photo: Aaryan Varshney

Lastly, Gaurav Varshney had a message for all chess parents:

“Chess is not an easy game. Never expect a fast jump in the ratings. Always keep patience. Give more and more love and care to your kids. Never scold or punish them after their failure. Motivate them to learn from their mistakes. Analyzing each and every game may open the path of great success in chess for your kids.”

Speaking about his goal, Aaryan said:

Truly speaking, I want to say that my father will remain my mentor forever and I want to become a strong grandmaster under his guidance as soon as possible.

Aaryan won the 1st Emergers Rapid Rating Open 2024

This story is about a father’s dream and a son’s determination. A father sacrificed so much so his son could rise and a son is working tirelessly to make his father proud. This reminds me of a quote by Jim Valvano:

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me.

As both of them strive towards the dream of becoming a grandmaster, they need support from the chess community. If you want to be a part of their journey and contribute to it, please reach out to chessbaseindia@gmail.com

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