24 March 2008
Nairobi — A 13-year-old student at Premier Academy has made his way to the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) rating list.
Ankush Nagda is 1,719th in the latest junior ranking. He becomes the youngest East African to be ranked by the international body.
Fide recognised Nagda for his exemplary performance at the World Youth Championship (WYC) in Turkey where he bagged 3.5 points out of 11 rounds.
The players, whose marks were the highest in the Kenyan team, outwitted rated players including a South Korean.
Nagda
The chess wizard now joins the class of senior players Martin Gateri who is FIDE rated 2,189th, Ben Magana (2,141st), Kenneth Omolo (2,130th), John Mukabi (2,074th), William Wachira (2,073rd).
Nagda who learned of the rating through Chess Kenya (CK) last week said: "This is the dream of my life because it is what I have been fighting for."
Nagda, who started playing chess at five, missed rating by a half point at the 2005 WYC in France. He scooped five points out of the possible 11.
Nagda's achievement in Turkey came as a surprise especially after he lost to his twin brother Akshay in the qualification matches.
"It is a surprise because I lost to my brother (Akshay) in the qualifying round but my mum decided that both of us should travel," he told SportFest in an interview last week.
"I am happy because I did not let my mother down," Nagda, who was flanked by his brother and father, said.
On why he loves chess, Nagda said: "Chess is a thinking game and like a war, you have to plan and make sacrifices as you seek to win."
His father, also a chess player, said Nagda's talent was discovered at a tender age. "Nagda started playing when he was still very young and at the age of five he was beating me and this is when I realised his potential," he sad.
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