Meet WFM Nivedita V.C.: Double Gold and Three WIM Norms

Nivedita enjoyed a breakthrough 2026, winning the Western Asian Junior Girls’ titles in classical and blitz, and earning bronze medals in rapid and at the Asian Junior Girls’ Championship. She also finished runner-up at the National Under-15 Girls’ Championship. Introduced to chess by her father at four, Nivedita has trained with the same coach since joining Dakshin Chess Academy at eight. Now in Class 10, she is balancing school with a fast-rising chess career. Read this article to know more about one of India's fastest-rising chess talents!

Finding Her Beginning in Chess

Nivedita’s father, a chess player rated above 1400, taught her the fundamentals. Her interest deepened around age eight, when she became drawn to the game's strategic and competitive sides. She joined Dakshin Chess Academy as an unrated beginner and has trained with Mr Sa Krishna ever since.

Her coach has been a mentor beyond the classroom, she says. Travelling to tournaments with him and other academy players gave her opportunities to learn away from the board as well as at it. The best mentors leave their wisdom in your choices long after the lesson ends. Mr Sa Krishna seems to be like that. Nivedita says that he has been incredibly helpful and instrumental in her chess journey.

Learning through difficult stretches

At eleven, Nivedita went through a year when her rating barely changed. For a chess player, the fluctuations in their rating tell them in which direction they have to work. But a barely changed, stagnant rating carries its own kind of frustration. Nivedita says that period tested her confidence and taught her to keep working even when progress was hard to see.

Nivedita began travelling to events with her coach or independently at around nine or ten. She says that having to travel independently at such a young age was challenging at first. Most of the time, she travelled with her coach, but over time, it taught her maturity, resilience and independence. Her family plans tournament participation carefully, weighing the costs of travel, accommodation and entry fees against the opportunities each event offers.

The Financial Commitment Behind The Journey

Behind Nivedita’s progress is the steady financial commitment her family has made to her chess. Coaching, tournament fees, travel, accommodation and training resources all add up, so the family carefully chooses which events to enter. Recently, they have received support through the Tamil Nadu Government’s Champions Development Scheme, and her school has also been incredibly supportive of her chess career, offering a full tuition fee waiver. It has helped, but competing more often at the international level will bring higher costs. For Nivedita and her family, finding a way to fund those opportunities remains an important challenge.

Achievements

Some of her Annotated Games

Support Behind The Journey

Nivedita says her parents have provided most of the financial and emotional support for her chess, with her sister also encouraging her through difficult phases. Strong support means a lot, especially with how cutthroat and brutal competitive chess is. For young players, learning to regulate emotions, sportsmanship and dealing with losses and wins is a challenging task. Here, parents, coaches and the additional support behind the players determine how well they progress after going through difficult phases.

As she looks toward more international tournaments, Nivedita says managing the associated expenses will remain a challenge. For now, she continues to balance her studies and training, building on a run of results that has taken her from national podiums to medals on the Asian stage.