There’s no stopping chess sensation, Kush Bhagat of Mumbai. Bhagat has
added one feather to his cap by becoming the Candidate Master (CM), a rare and prestigious title awarded by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Bhagat indeed deserves this honour more than anybody else. Out of all his triumphs, what stands out is his conquest of the triple gold at the First Western Youth Chess Championship 2016 in Al Ain Chess Club, United Arab Emirates (UAE). He fought challenges from 158 participants from 20 countries. Courtesy his performance in the tournament, Bhagat made a great impact and made his presence felt. The entire chess fraternity sat up and took a notice of his this special talent. FIDE acknowledged his efforts in the prestigious tournament and bestowed him with this honour. Speaking about his CM title, Bhagat’s coach Balaji Guttula sounded ecstatic at his ward’s success and said Bhagat rightly deserved this and it was just the beginning and he had more glories lined up in the days to come. Bhagat’s mother Shilpa attributes his son’s achievements to his handwork and to all the coaches at the South Mumbai Chess Academy.
A Class II student of Hill Spring School, Bhagat has been in splendid form in the last six months. He started off with winning the Under-7 Maharashtra State Chess Championship 2016 title and then he bagged the World School Under-7 Blitz championship and has been on a roll. Bhagat has made his presence felt in every tournament and in every format of the game.
Indian chess has seen many budding talents making it big subsequently. Bhagat, no doubt has shown the potential at a tender age and if groomed properly, he may go on to become a stalwart of the game in the future. But a lot depends on his temperament which looks sound as of now. There is no dearth of competition but hopefully, Bhagat will be able to weather the mightiest of storms to establish himself.
Sources :- https://ratings.fide.com/card.
