Aditya Mittal’s inspirational journey of becoming an IM at the age of 12
Paras Gudka·9 min read
Born in September 2006, Aditya Mittal became an IM at the age of 12 years and 5 months when he achieved his final norm at the Aeroflot Open 2019. Even though it's just been seven years since Aditya started playing chess, the story of his achievements from a beginner to a master is worth narrating. ChessBase India author Paras Gudka made his way to Aditya's home in Mumbai and sat down with the boy and his family to know about one of India's brightest chess talents. Aditya's life is a story of grit and determination. In spite of innumerable obstacles, the boy overcame each one of them and has emerged victorious. A famous Indian GM made a prediction in 2016 that Aditya is so talented he would become a GM in six years. The way he is progressing, we think it might just take him three!
Born on 19th September 2006 Aditya Mittal is just 12 years and 5 months old. He became India's latest IM when on 27th February 2019 Aditya scored his final IM norm at the Aeroflot Open 2019
Fortune favours the brave - The fearless Aditya Mittal
In June 2018, 12-year-old Candidate Master
Aditya Mittal had an accident where he slipped and fell on the wet floor of a
temple in Ahmedabad just before the penultimate round of the Under-13 national
championships. He was in excruciating pain and had to be taken to the hospital
in an ambulance. Even in such a dire situation, all he could think of was his
next game where he would be up against Delhi’s Aaryan Varshney, the eventual
winner of the tournament.
Unfortunately, it was learnt that he had
suffered fracture in one leg and left forearm. He was operated and was
advised complete rest for 2-3 months, which meant lying flat on his back for
the first few months with the plaster, followed by rigorous physiotherapy
sessions to regain muscle mass. The immediate future, as far as his chess
is concerned, looked grim for the little champ but did he take it lying down or
did he rise to the occasion? Considering that he scored his IM norms in three
consecutive tournaments between December 2018 and February 2019 and is now
Mumbai and India’s latest International Master, the answer is obvious.
Aditya's phenomenal rating growth. As on March 2019 his Elo is 2454 | Source: FIDE
How did it all begin though?According to Aditya’s parents Nitish and
Kusum, he was a bright child and from a very young age and before he had even
turned five, he was already playing chess after receiving basic instructions
from his elder brother Vinayak and putting together puzzles of 250-300 pieces
in no time at all. Within six months of beginning training
under his first coach, Sanjay Chhabra, in Gurgaon where the Mittals lived,
Aditya was fortunate enough to play against GM Viswanathan Anand at a
simultaneous exhibition organised by NIIT in Rajasthan. When asked if he
remembers the event, he gushed, ‘Yes, I was on top of the world and it was a
great feeling because Anand is the idol of any chess player in India.’ He was
just five-and-a-half years old then.
Five and a half-year-old Aditya Mittal takes on Vishy Anand in a simul
From here, he started participating in
tournaments and even came first in the under-7 category in a district
tournament in Gurgaon before going on to become the state champion.In 2012, Nitish, an employee of Indian Oil
Corporation, was transferred to Mumbai and Aditya got to participate in his
first national championship in Pondicherry where he represented Haryana. After
moving to Mumbai, the six-year-old began training with a new coach, Prasad
Ghate.
Aditya with his first coach in Mumbai Prasad Ghate
Aditya’s first big break came in 2013 when,
as an unrated player, he won the under-7 national championship in Pune despite
having missed the final round, also due to a fracture. Wanting Aditya to progress further, his
parents sought out Chennai-based TJ Suresh Kumar to coach him through to the
next stage. Their investment paid off when Aditya won the bronze medal in the
under-8 Open category at the 2014 Asian Youth Championship in Uzbekistan and
received the title of Candidate Master as a result.
Coach TJ Suresh Kumar helped Aditya to take his game to the next level
He wasn’t as fortunate at
the 2014 World Youth Championship in South Africa, going medal less but
finishing in top 6. He later participated in the 2015 and 2016 editions of
the Asian Youth Championship in South Korea and Mongolia, respectively, winning
medals in both.For a short period, Aditya was trained by
Chennai-based IM P Karthikeyan and Mumbai-based GM Pravin Thipsay, who further
chiselled his natural talent for the game into championship material.
GM Pravin Thipsay wrote this article in 2016 predicting that Aditya should become a GM in six years. Well, it seems like the youngster will achieve this feat in half the time!
Buoyed by his potential, well-known
Mumbai-based organiser and coach Praful Zaveri encouraged the Mittals to start
taking Aditya to international tournaments as he was sure that he would do
well. Nitish and Kusum made sure he was ready for the intense competition at
that level by progressively entering him in C, B and A category tournaments in
India. They also made sure that his studies weren’t being affected adversely
before he could go international.
In August 2016, Aditya participated in his
first open tournament outside India—the Abu Dhabi International Masters
Tournament—where he managed to score 2.5 points from 9 games. By this time he
was rated 2140 and set on achieving his goal of becoming a Grand Master.After Abu Dhabi in 2016, Aditya’s next
international tournaments were the Sharjah and Dubai international opens in
2017 where a collective gain of 28 Elo points saw him breach the 2200 mark for
the first time. Ukrainian coach GM Alexander Goloshchapov was roped in from
2017 when it was clear that Aditya was finally ready to take a stab at the IM
title in a very serious way. A slew of international appearances followed in
Poland, the Czech Republic, Malaysia and even Russia before his unfortunate
accident in Ahmedabad.
Aditya’s phenomenal rise in chess did not
escape the notice of the top-most levels of Indian bureaucracy and in November
2016, on the occasion of Children’s Day, he was presented with the ‘National
Child Award for Exceptional Achievement in Sports’ by non-other than the
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
The National Child Award for exceptional achievement in sports medal - now this is something you cherish for a lifetime!
What have been the main obstacles to his
growth as a chess player? With both his parents working full-time, it
hasn’t been easy accompanying Aditya to coaching camps and tournaments. His
health and lack of finances have proved challenging as well.Luckily for the Mittals, sponsorship from a
Pune based NGO called Lakshya Sports with the support of Sony Pictures India
has been helping them offset about thirty per cent of the costs incurred in
coaching and tournament related expenses. It goes without saying that getting some more financial help is critical and will support Aditya in a big way and make him reach his goal of becoming a GM faster.
Aditya's sponsors Lakshya and Sony Pictures Networks have supported his chess career in a big way
Aditya hasn’t been as lucky with his health
though – already having had to abandon two tournaments at their tail ends due
to fractures. With his most recent injuries, he also had to give up on
opportunities to participate in tournaments in Europe that had already been
planned for.Despite these challenges, Aditya didn’t
wallow in self-pity and instead kept practising by himself, first on his laptop
during two months of bed rest and then with the help of Thane based IM Rakesh
Kulkarni who would visit his home in Goregaon whenever possible. Unwavering
support from family, friends, his school -Vibgyor High, Malad (East), and well-wishers during these trying
times has also helped immensely.
In October 2018, after almost four months
of not participating in any tournaments, they decided to enter him in the first
international tournament in Goa and see if he could play while on a wheelchair.
He scored 6 points from 10 games in the Category A event, defeating two IMs and
drawing against one GM.It was just as well that he got this
experience as in his next three tournaments—the EKA IIFL International in
Mumbai, the Delhi International and the Aeroflot Open in Moscow—he was still
bound to a wheelchair but it didn’t stop him from achieving the three IM norms
and a rating of 2400 Elo points that he required to become India’s latest
International Master.
The Goa GM International where Aditya made a strong comeback to chess with 6.0/10 | Photo: Amruta Mokal
The dream team - Aditya with his mother Kusum | Photo: Mumbai IIFLW 2018-19 | Photo: IIFLW 2018-19
How did he celebrate after accepting a draw
in the final game in Moscow that made him an IM? By playing blitz games against
his opponent, Gukesh D. That is how much he and the other Indian youngsters
making their mark in the chess world love this game!On asking Aditya of his future plans, he
was quick to reply that he wants to become a Grand Master in the next six
months. Depending on his recovery, his fans might see him back in action in the
Emirati circuit of Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and international tournaments
happening back in India.This author has little doubt that before
2019 ends, Aditya will be Mumbai’s newest Grand Master.
Aditya's chess career through pictures
Aditya's ever supporting and lovely family - father Nitish Mittal, brother Vinayak and mother Kusum
Aditya and his brother Vinayak with the four-time World Champion (back in 2011!) Vishy Anand
Silver medal at the under-10 Asian Championships in South Korea, 2015
Aditya's fans in South Korea!
Asian bronze in under-10 at Mongolia 2016
Aditya felicitated by Maharashtra Chess Association with a laptop along with GM Shardul Gagare, GM Vidit Gujrathi, Akanksha Hagawane and WGM Soumya Swaminathan
Third IM norm at the Aeroflot Open 2019 in Moscow | Photo: David Llada
Aditya, the singer!
Two gems from Aditya's chess career:
There are many beautiful games that Aditya has played in his career till date. We have chosen two over here. One of them is an all-time favourite of the readers and Aditya's fans - against GM Niaz Murshed. And the other against GM Semen Lomasov is Aditya's favourite. Let's first have a look at his beautiful win against GM Murshed form the KIIT Open 2017.
Aditya Mittal vs GM Niaz Murshed
Niaz Murshed has just moved his knight from d7 to b6. How should White continue? Mind you, even the computer doesn't find this idea easily!
In fact this game was so popular that Agadmator, the famous YouTube chess analyst, presented it on his channel and it now has 193,000 views!
Now let's go to Aditya's favourite game. It took place at the recently concluded Aeroflot Open 2019, where Aditya made his final IM norm.
Aditya Mittal vs Semen Lomasov
White to play. How do you get the advantage?
Articles on Aditya on ChessBase India
Aditya has been ChessBase India's key annotator for many important top level games. His annotation skills are phenomenal. You can know more about it through the articles given below:
