How good is Yuzvendra Chahal at chess?
India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal possesses a plethora of variations in his bowling arsenal. If a flipper doesn't get the batsman out, the googly has the potential to bamboozle him. A regular member of the Indian limited-overs side as well as the Royal Challengers Bangalore brigade in IPL, Chahal has emerged as the linchpin of the spin-bowling attacks of these teams.
However, he also holds another rare distinction at an early stage of his career that few know of. It involves a career preceding his current leather-ball heroics. Chahal enjoyed a distinguished career in the game of chess which is an unparalleled achievement amongst his peers in cricket.
Before the Haryana player took up a career in cricket, he was tasked with the responsibility of representing India in chess by his father. This was a burden which he carried with great distinction.
In 2002, Chahal won the National Under-11 Championship in Kolkata. The following year, he took huge leaps in his board-game career and represented India at the World (under-12) Championship in Halkidiki, Greece. He played against the likes of Grandmasters of today like Eltaj Safarli at the Asian and World Junior Championships.
Yuzvendra Chahal still has an Elo rating of 1956 on the International Chess Federation website, something which is extraordinary considering the fact that he hasn't been playing professional chess for quite some time.
Yuzvendra Chahal's rise as a chess player
Introduced to chess by his father KK Chahal at the early age of only six, Chahal's rise was noteworthy. After three months of brainstorming and practising his moves, he won a state tournament, showing immense potential and love towards the game. He soon carried his form into his first-ever nationals, where he finished at the eighth position, something which his father was extremely proud of.
In a chat with TOI last year, KK Chahal recalled the instances which reminded him of his son's love for the game of cricket.
“Cricket was always his first love. He was mad about cricket He had put this condition that he will play and excel in chess only if we allow him to play cricket in future."
He accredited his ability to bounce back as a bowler to the game of chess. According to him, chess taught him patience, brought in him a sense of calm and helped him become a thinking and intelligent cricketer. This is something which even Indian captain Virat Kohli and Yuzi himself accepts.
His father said:
“Chess is a mind game. It is an intense and gruelling sport. Yuzi’s quality of thinking out of the box is because of chess. We all have seen he keeps calm after being hit for a six and then makes a comeback. This is because of chess. Chess taught him patience."
Making the move
Yuzi Chahal played chess from 1997 to 2003 before taking on cricket as a profession. Two reasons that made him leave chess were his family's inability to provide ₹5 lakh per year in his development as a chess player and the other being his unconditional love for the game of cricket.
He started his cricketing journey by playing the Under-14 BCCI tournaments and slowly rising to the Under-16s and Under-19s. He even scored a match-winning century against Himachal Pradesh at that level. Although it was hard to break into the Haryana Ranji team as a spinner, due to the presence of stalwarts like Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav, Chahal's hunger and desire to bowl leg-spin helped him scale new heights.
With an experience of 94 international games, Chahal has established himself as a genuine match-winner. However, he still goes back to his roots and enjoys a game of chess whenever he gets the time.
