India’s 3-year-old chess prodigy Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha has found himself in the spotlight again, this time for a complaint filed shortly after he achieved a historic milestone by becoming one of the youngest FIDE-rated players. The issue has sparked debate within the chess community.
A formal complaint has been lodged against Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha, who recently made history as the youngest player to receive a FIDE rating. The allegations suggest that he obtained this rating through dishonest methods. As reported by The Indian Express, the complaint claims that his three opponents were actually coaches from the academy where he trains.
The complaint asserts, “It appears that the rating was achieved through unfair means, involving clear violations of FIDE’s fair play principles by the coaches or individuals supervising the games.”
Sarwagya is from Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. His father, Siddharth Singh Kushwaha, along with his coach Nitin Chaurasiya, acknowledged the existence of the complaint to FIDE but vehemently rejected the accusations, attributing them to internal politics within the Madhya Pradesh chess federation.
Siddharth expressed to The Indian Express, “In Sagar, there are two factions in the local chess body. One faction is trying to target the other by trying to prove my son’s record came by unfair means.”
The young prodigy triumphed over Abhijeet Awasthi (1,542), Shubham Chourasiya (1,559), and Yogesh Namdev (1,696) in tournaments held in Khandwa, Indore, Chhindwara, and Mangaluru. His remarkable victories garnered attention, especially since his opponents were older and had higher rankings. However, the complaint contends that these opponents are coaches at the same academy where he trains in Sagar.
“Just because these people are from Sagar and we know them, it cannot prove that there was anything unfair. I know these three people by face, as someone who also runs a chess academy. They are like our competitors,” the boy’s father further added.
Additionally, it is alleged that during one of the tournaments, both Sarwagya and Namdev entered the event after the draw had been made and were manually added to the draw, resulting in them being matched against each other. Sarwagya emerged victorious over Namdev, while in the same tournament, Namdev lost due to time constraints after stepping away for a bathroom break during the final moments of a 10-minute rapid game.
“It wasn’t just my son; several children arrived late and were paired manually. There was nothing unusual,” Kushwaha said.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: dnaindia.com
