Beating a Grandmaster

An ‘uncanny’ aptitude for chess Wilton student is no ordinary player
Posted on 11/05/2009

By LAUREN MYLO
Hour Staff Writer

Two weeks ago, Wiltonian Kapil Chandran beat a chess grandmaster who once beat legendary chess player Bobby Fischer.

The next weekend, Kapil, 11, hosted a Halloween party with friends from Middlebrook School, where he is a student.

Chandran is an ordinary boy despite his uncanny aptitude for the game. He plays the drums, tennis and basketball, but said he couldn’t join the travel team because he was “a bit busy.”

But he’s no ordinary chess player.

In September, Kapil achieved a USCF (United States Chess Federation) Rating of more than 2000 and became a USCF Expert, making him the highest rated elementary and middle school student in Connecticut (he’s in the state top 25 for all ages) and the fourth highest ranked nationally in the 10-year-old age group, according to October data.

He’ll likely be in the top 10 again nationally now that he is in the 11-year-old bracket. Rankings come out every two months.

Kapil said he felt “pretty proud” to be an expert, and he was happy to beat his first grandmaster, Arthur Bisguier, who is actually an international grandmaster, in Boston two weeks ago.

“It feels good,” he said. “I was excited. I rushed in to tell my dad and he (the grandmaster) said it was well-played. I felt really proud of myself after because not many people are gms (grandmasters).”

Fischer became a grand master in his teens, and Kapil said the youngest grandmaster ever was 12.

Here is the full article.