Chess is a rather complex game requiring immense amounts of focus, attention, and intelligence. It is also an intricately designed game with various pieces, namely the pawns, the knights, the bishops, the rooks, the queen, and the king. Being what it is, it is not everyone’s cup of tea. However, for ten-year-old Shivansh Bhatt, it is a piece of cake.
Shivansh started playing chess at the age of seven, and he was encouraged by his parents to do so. It was his tutor who noticed the immense amount of attention he was capable of devoting to anything he put his mind to. When she noticed his prowess in academic matters, she advised his parents, Ronakbhai Vikrambhai Bhatt and Shrutiben Ronakbhai Bhatt, to encourage him to pursue extracurricular activities as well.
This resulted in Shivansh’s exploring different options and eventually settling for chess out of his love for the game. Apart from chess, Shivansh was also interested in another mentally challenging game – the Rubik’s Cube. He started solving the cube at the age of nine.
There was never any opposition to Shivansh pursuing his interests. He was supported by all his family members, which include his parents and his grandparents, and by his school, Anand Niketan, Maninagar.
Consistency is never a problem for Shivansh. He spends six to seven hours a day practising his moves and tactics. What drives Shivansh to be so consistent and dedicated is his own self-interest. Even his parents are of the opinion that self-interest has played a major role in Shivansh’s progress. His game improves day by day and even at the age of ten, he can give a lot of professionals a run for their money.
Shivansh is the recipient of several awards and achievements. He started with the Karnavati Chess Tournament and his latest participation was in the Khel Mahakumbh Ahmedabad Rural and the Chess Era Summer Festival. His dedication and perseverance gave him the opportunity to play online simul with Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand. Shivansh has also made big moves by getting himself enlisted in the Guinness Book of World Records and the Noble World Records. His mention in the Guinness is for solving 3*3 cube in a mass event. He won Bronze at the IXth Annual Cube Championship held by the Indian Cube Association. He has also won Gold at the Skoodle Cube Championship, an event organised by the Junior Cube Association.
One would think that with such achievements at such a small age, Shivansh would definitely end up compromising on his studies. However, Shivansh is an excellent student and never lets his academics take a backseat. He balances his academics, his chess, and his cube, all at the same time. He has a very sharp, God-gifted memory and due to his exceptional memory and immense dedication, he stays ahead in academics, which gives him enough spare time to devote to chess and the cube.
A sense of direction for the future is very important during the early years of life. Shivansh has defined his goals for himself and is bent upon achieving those goals as soon as he can. His immediate plans for the future include an attempt to increase his FIDE ratings, whereas in the long term, Shivansh can plan to undertake chess as a profession and work as hard as it take to become one of the all-time greats at the game.
Apart from chess, Shivansh also has a knack for modelling. He was featured in the UrbanKids catalogue. He can be found sporting a profound and sweet smile on the UrbanKids Amazon Webpage, where he is endorsing a shirt-pant combo by the brand.
Shivansh is quite an extraordinary kid with extraordinary talents, and he is definitely bound to become a proficient player of chess in the coming years.