Vantika Agrawal is ranked first in India, third in Asia and 17th in the World in FIDE rankings and she recently became a gold medal winner in the Chess Olympiad which saw India and Russia get the top honours.
Woman International Master at the age of 14, gold medal winner at the age of 17 - that's how one will describe Vantika Agrawal’s chess journey. The Delhi girl has already made some big impressions in the chess world at such a young age. From her rapid climb in the ratings to her constant hard work and dedication towards the sport, Vantika is on the fast road to success. The youngster has accomplished a lot in the short span of time when she won the Woman International Master (WIM) title and was even awarded the National Child Award by the Indian Government.
Her crowning glory though was being part of the Indian squad that won the Olympiad gold for the first time ever. They won it jointly with Russia but they were on top of 163 other nations that had participated in the event. Speaking about the victory exclusively to DNA, Vantika gave an insight into her preparations and on her chess inspiration.
She started off by recollecting the epic semi-final against Poland and how India bounced back in style. “We lost the first match and I was not playing in the first match. I was playing in the second match, and we needed to win that match. Three of our players had won. Harika didi had won her game and I needed to just draw. I was even better in the game but I managed to draw the match,” Vantika said.
Looking back at the tournament, Vantika remembers the hours of preparation and planning that she had to put in order to be in top shape. She was practicing along with her teammates before the tournament. Her routine would include working on her skills for at least six hours a day and sometimes even more. When the Indian team for the tournament was being selected, there were four men players and four a woman players. The team also had two juniors - a boy and a girl.
Vantika was selected as a girl junior as she was the third-highest rated in junior in India. Vaishali, who was the highest-rated was selected in the women's category.
Inspirational Mom
The coronavirus pandemic surely disrupted all sporting events around the globe and this forced chess took a new route the sport went online. Talking about the experience, Vantika said that while she prefers over-the-board games but she enjoys the online version as well. "I enjoy playing online but on-the-board is more enjoyable as you can see the opponent and the playing atmosphere is different".
Chess in India has many icons from Viswanathan Anand, Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Vidit Gujrathi and Pentala Harikrishna. However, Vantika’s inspiration is actually her mom, Sangeeta. From travelling with her to foreign tournaments to keeping her motivated despite a loss, she has been with her through all.
"Whenever we are travelling for tournaments, my mom always travels with me. She is always motivating me even after I lose the game, I am able to come back very quickly because she is motivating me. She even prepares food for me at hotels,” Vantika said
About her inspiration in chess, it's none other than Magnus Carlsen – who is the current reigning world champion ever since 2013 and who is breaking records with his dominant style of play. When asked what was it about his style of play that she liked, Vantika replied, "I like his style of play and he is good at everything. He is very different from others".
Vantika has been in the uno numero spot for many years. She is also ranked third in Asia and 17th in the World. However, she still has two goals. She wants to achieve the Grandmaster title and to be part of the Chess Olympiad team again next time. At such a young age, Vantika has surely achieved plenty of things and only good times beckon for her.
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