The recent week was one of historic achievements for Indian chess. R. After Vaishali qualified for the Women’s World Championship and AS Shravanika won the Under-12 Rapid title, now Kolkata’s Aranyak Ghosh has made the country proud by becoming India’s 95th Grandmaster. National Rapid Champion Aranyak achieved his third and final Grandmaster norm by scoring 7 out of 9 at the Bangkok Chess Club Open. Aranyaka had to work hard to reach this position. He achieved the first norm in 2023 (Saints Open) and the second in 2024 (Annemasse Masters). He surprised everyone by defeating Poland’s Mateusz Barthel in the FIDE World Cup last year. Aranyak is at 401st place in the world ranking. To stay stress-free, he plays by wearing a cartoon hoodie – When Aranyak was four and a half years old, while cleaning the house, mother Sanchita found father Mrinal Ghosh’s old, dusty chess box. Little Aranyak started playing by arranging the pieces. Seeing his son’s interest, father Mrinal Ghosh got him trained. Seeing the financial constraints of Aranyak, coach Soumen Majumdar gave him free coaching and got him training sessions from top grandmasters at his own expense. – Aranyak did not have a corporate sponsor, so he used to pay the fees of the next tournament from the prize money and bear the expenses of tickets etc. In the year 2019, the father sold ancestral land and properties to pay the fees. Aranyak knew that poor performance meant the next opportunity was over, so he played every match as a challenge to save his career. – Mother Sanchita Ghosh left advocacy for her son’s career, so that she could accompany him to foreign tournaments. To save money on European tours, he used to stay in cheap rooms and cook his own food. – While players play in formal clothes, Aranyak sits on the board wearing cartoon themed hoodies. This keeps them comfortable and relaxed even under the pressure of big tournaments. – In 2013, Aranyak went to Iran to play the Asian Youth Chess Championship. Then mother Sanchita asked him to bring Iranian saffron. 9 year old Aranyak fulfilled his mother’s wish and returned after winning a silver medal in the under-10 category. – He has been suffering from Thalassemia since childhood, which causes constant fatigue due to low blood levels. Despite this, many times he came to play the tournament even in fever and pain. There was an option to stay at home, but he made chess his only support. He says that he would rather think of tricks than stay in bed. This stubbornness and mental strength became his biggest strength.
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