Interview with ChessBase India
Devansh Singh: When did your chess journey begin, and what initially drew you to the game
Avirat: When I was 5.5 years old, I came across this game on a mobile phone. My father bought me a chessboard and started teaching me the basics he knew. In about a month, I started beating him at the game. That's when he found a chess academy near my home, where I started learning further. But soon COVID struck, and chess training went online. I did not like online sessions at that time, so my chess training stopped. A few months later, we approached Mr Satyam Warude (who was also teaching at the offline academy I went to) & he readily agreed to coach me. I think I was one of the first students in his independent coaching career. I liked to solve puzzles a lot, and that is what kept me going in chess during the early months.
Devansh Singh: Who or what has been the biggest influence on your chess career?
Avirat: My parents have been supportive of my chess journey without impacting academics. I continue to balance my chess career with regular school. My first coach, Mr Satyam Warude, has been highly motivating & always thought that I could achieve great things in chess. Meeting Sagar Shah sir during the Chess Olympiad back in 2022 & his kind words have always been inspiring.
Devansh Singh: Who have been your coaches so far, and how long did you train with each?
Avirat: I was coached by Mr Satyam Warude (now he has his independent chess academy called SW Chess Academy in Pune) during my early years. I trained with him for 3-4 years. He is very supportive of me, and even now he takes time out for me whenever I ask for his help. All other intermittent coaching attempts between 2024 and mid-2026 have been ad-hoc & of short duration (1-3 months) for various reasons. Most recently (since July this year), I have started training with CM Gaurav Zagade (White Knight Chess Academy Pune) and a couple of hourly classes per month with GM Swapnil Dhopade as well.
Devansh Singh: What was your target going into the tournament?
Avirat: 32nd Abu Dhabi Chess Masters was the most difficult tournament that had an intimidating lineup of many seasoned masters. I realized that being defensive & playing for draws in the tournament would not take me anywhere. So I tried to focus on winning games. I think that mindset helped. I played against 9 IMs and was able to win against 4 of them (and drew 3). Eventually, I was able to secure my maiden IM norm before the last round was played.
Devansh Singh: Which game was the most important in your pursuit of the norm?
Avirat: The penultimate round was crucial as I knew a win would secure an IM norm; a draw meant I needed to get at least a draw in the last round, and a loss meant fight for a win in the last round. The 8th round win helped me be more relaxed in the last round.
Editor's note: Avirat's game against Roman Shogdzhiev was one of the craziest games I have seen recently; have a look at this beautiful art piece.
Another Impressive Game and Favourite of Avirat
Devansh Singh: What is your plan for scoring your remaining norms?
Avirat: As of now, we have not zeroed in on any specific tournament to play in the coming months. But there are possibilities such as any strong GM tournament coming up in India, the IM closed circuit at Chennai, or any strong, relevant & affordable (open or round robin) tournament outside India.
Devansh Singh: Do you remember your major achievements?
Avirat: Yes, here are some of my major achievements:
Scored maiden IM norm at the 32nd Abu Dhabi Chess Festival Masters.
2nd place (Silver) in the National Under-13 Championship 2026.
Won 3 Open FIDE-rated Rapid tournaments in 2026 (19th LBHM, Children's Research University FIDE Rapid, and 1st Late MLA Vinayakrao Nimhan FIDE Rapid).
Won 1st Uinsports International Open Classical FIDE-rated tournament at age 10.
Champion, National Under-8 Championship (2022).
Champion, Under-7 National & Asian Schools Chess Online Championship (2021).
2nd place (Silver) in Maharashtra State Under-11 Open Selection Tournament at age 8.
There was an interesting situation related to the Under-8 National Championship. About 3-4 months before the tournament, for some reason I was very low on interest in chess training. I hardly trained in that period leading up to the tournament. Looking at the situation, my father wasn't sure if I should play in the tournament. Eventually, my parents decided to go with low expectations. But the tournament went well & I became the champion.
Devansh Singh: What have been some of the biggest challenges you faced in your chess journey?
Avirat: Financials (cost associated with Training, Travelling, Accommodation & fees) are the biggest bottlenecks in the chess journey. We too faced the same. This is an ongoing challenge. This has definitely impacted & delayed my chess targets.
Devansh Singh: How do you manage the costs of training and tournaments? Have you received any sponsorship or financial support?
Avirat: We have managed all the associated costs ourselves until about April this year. Thanks to Helpchess / Chessbase India, we have received some financial support after that. We have received Rs 2.5 Lakh from the Helpchess Quanbox Scholarship. On top of that, we have received about equal support from Helpchess General Fund. But more than half of this fund is already exhausted in a couple of tours abroad. We continue to seek more funds & look out for sponsorship for my IM and GM journey.
An Appeal for Sponsorship
Scoring his maiden IM norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters proves Avirat’s caliber at the highest level. However, elite coaching, international travel, and tournament expenses present an ongoing financial hurdle on his path to the IM and GM titles.
We appeal to potential sponsors, organizations, and the chess community to back Avirat in this crucial phase. If you wish to support his journey, please reach out to us or connect directly with his family.
Contact: Mr. Amit Chauhan, msg2arc@gmail.com
