I want him to be a grandmaster

WINDSOR, Ont. — Eight-year-old Forest Glade resident Rohan Talukdar usually has trouble keeping still — except when he’s in front of a chess board.

A local and provincial champion in his age group, Rohan predicts that his upcoming match at the World Youth Chess Championship will be his longest ever: more than six hours.

“Chess is a mind game,” says the Grade 3 student. “It makes you get more focused. I feel happy when I play.”

Matches four to five hours in length are his norm.

Next month, Rohan will travel with his parents to Caldas Novas, Brazil, where he will represent Canada against chess players from around the world.

Rohan qualified for the event by taking first place in city, county and Ontario tournaments.

This summer, he took third place among national competitors at the Canadian Youth Chess Championship.

Rohan’s father, Mridushyam Talukdar, can barely contain his pride in his son’s accomplishments.

“I want him to be a grandmaster,” says Talukdar.

But it’s not just about winning trophies. “Because of chess, he can concentrate more,” says Talukdar, an engineer. “For his studies, it is helping very much. Concentration. Mind control.”

“Sometimes it’s pressure, but he wants to go forward,” Talukdar adds. “He enjoys it. Even if he loses, he’ll say ‘OK, I’ll win next time. It’s a game.’ He is like a sportsman.”

Chess runs in Rohan’s family. He learned the game from his mother, Mayuri, a pharmacy technician who was herself a champion chess player in her birthplace of Assam, India.

The Talukdars came to Windsor in 1999, and Rohan was born here in 2003.

Talukdar says Mayuri would cradle the infant Rohan in her arms while playing chess online, and he would become transfixed by the pieces moving on the screen.

By preschool, Rohan had learned the rules of the game and was playing against his mother.

Talukdar says that after a few years, no one in the family could offer Rohan a challenge.

These days, Rohan practises by playing against a computer program — set at its highest level.

“I beat it, like, all the time,” Rohan says.

Despite his skill, Rohan considers himself only a “medium level” player and points out that there are “many people” with stronger games.

“I’m a very quick attacker,” he adds.

His favourite openings are the King’s Indian (when he’s playing black) and the English (when he’s playing white).

The upcoming international tournament will undoubtedly be a higher-stress environment than any of Rohan’s previous competitive experiences. But he’s not feeling too nervous.

“It’s not my life, chess. Everyone needs something else,” Rohan says. “It’s just going to be my hobby.”

The Forest Glade public school student plans on becoming a doctor.

Until then, traveling to Brazil will be expensive. The Talukdars are holding a fundraising dinner Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Serbian Centre, 6770 Tecumseh Rd. E.

All the tickets for the event have been sold, with 200 people expected to attend.

This year’s World Youth Chess Championship takes place Nov. 17 to 27.

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