City boy R. Raja Rithvik cornered glory in the Asian Schools Chess Championship (under-9) in Sri Lanka winning three gold medals in the classical, rapid and the blitz formats.
The performance earned the fifth grader from Oakridge International School the right to represent India in the World Schools Championship later this year.
“I am delighted and wish to keep continuing this good form,” he says a delighted after this triple gold in Hikkaduwa on Friday.
This young chess prodigy scored eight out of nine possible in the classical format, 6.5 out of seven in rapid and seven out of seven in blitz categories.
With an ELO rating of 1667, Rithwik was undefeated throughout the tournament. The championship also featured players from 13 countries including China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan.
Rithvik has some big wins of late, including the gold in the National Schools early this year, and the Asian rapid gold in the under-9 category.
Not surprisingly, he idolises the great Viswanathan Anand.
His father Rajavaram Srinivasa Rao, an engineer working in a power utility firm, had played chess at the university-level. His mother R. Deepika, a lecturer, is a source of support and encouragement to ensure Rithvik realises his goal of becoming the Grandmaster first.
Coached by K. Narasimha Rao, the young boy is dreaming big.
“The three gold medals have made me a more confident player,” says the youngster, who also won the 2012 Commonwealth under-eight silver.
