It was a pathway strewn with flowers and thorns for this charming little chess princess from the city. But K. Priyanka had dealt with the best and the worst in life in her own special way and is now nicely climbing up the ladder of success.
The 15-year-old from Chinmaya Vidyalaya (R.S. Puram), who scored 89 % in SSLC exams the other day, wrested the State under-19 (junior) title at Nagapattinam recently. It was not a big catch though for this young girl considering the fact that she had sealed several other titles in premier tournaments.
She had secured a third place finish in the under-15 sub-junior nationals at J&K in 2015. She was tied for the top spot but lost out on the title in the tie-breaker.
Priyanka also figured in the National A at Kolkata in September. In fact, the year 2015-16 was a great year as she had won two Fide-rated open tournaments in Coimbatore and Tuticorin. But the brighter side of her career was the World Juniors at Bhubaneswar. She received her first WIM (Woman International Master) norm and also enjoyed a 2205 rating then. “That was the best part of my life,” she said.
In the initial years, Priyanka showed great signs of making it big. Quite a few eyes popped out in amazement with her near perfect game and quick growth.
But, call it fate, she lost her father, who had been a huge inspiration and a great guide, and hit rock bottom from there.
It was painful in every way and the family had no choice but to leave the city. The little girl, who normally handles the chess pieces with aplomb against even the best of the bunch in the country, for once stood shaken. She was almost out of the game for two years. But encouraged by her mother (K. Maruthambal) and uncle (K.V. Sridhar), Priyanka has now shot back in style.
With her stalwart coach R.B. Ramesh in Chennai also backing her in training (at no cost) and offering the right support, both mental and financial, the journey has been smooth in many ways.
Priyanka, who is pretty strong in the middle and end game, now eyes the WGM (Woman Grandmaster) title. “I want to achieve it by August this year,” she quickly added. She has the calibre to make it even big and, she has been preparing earnestly for some time now. But, the problem will be the sponsorship money for future tours.
She understands that if her father had been around it would have been roses all the way. But one believes that the game is not over for this highly-rated star. If a few corporate companies come forward to support her then don't be surprised to see a world champion from this part of the region.
