Indian 1800-Rated 17-Year-Old Scores Sensational Result In Spain

With a rating of only 1845, 17-year-old Velpula Sarayu from India scored one of the most sensational results in chess history, defeating masters rated more than 600 points higher.

Teenagers such as GM Dommaraju Gukesh, GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, and GM Nihal Sarin have already been stars in the chess world for years in spite of their young age, but fans of the game should take note of yet another rising Indian.

17-year-old Velpula was the lowest ranked among 79 players in Pontevedra Open in Spain, which ended last week, with a rating of 1845. Facing three GMs, four IMs, and one FM, she lost only against the winner GM Vignesh N.R and finished sensationally in second place with 6.5/9 points (including one bye).

Her rating performance was an astonishing 2575, which is unheard of for an 1800 player. The score was enough for a WIM, WGM, and IM norm, and just half a point away from a GM norm, 

She ended the tournament in the most beautiful way by checkmating a Portuguese IM:

Velpula's result likely goes down as one of the most incredible results in chess history, comparable with a 13-year-old GM Vincent Keymer scoring 8/9 as the 99th seed to win the 2018 Grenke Open ahead of 52 grandmasters.

Velpula has long been considered highly underrated after lacking tournament practice in India, according to Chessbase India. She has won two national titles (U11 and U13) and has beaten strong Indian talents such as IM Vaishali Rameshbabu, WGM Divya Deshmukh, WGM V Varshini, and WIM Savitha Shri.

"I expected her to get WIM and WGM norms, but this performance really amazed me as well." her coach IM Krishna Teja told Chess.com.

Having bagged more than 400 rating points in tournaments in India and Spain this past month, she is expected to be rated close to 2300 on FIDE's September list to make it among the top 15 girls under 18. This result still surprised her coach. 

"She had a couple of notable performances earlier as well but didn't perform consistently. Regular coaching and hard work in the academy helped her get better and more consistent," he added.

Asked about her strengths, he says: "She is a player who loves chess the most. She has good discipline, patience, and parents who really help her enjoy the game."

She has good discipline, patience, and parents who really help her enjoy the game.

 —Krishna Teja

The coach expects a bright future for Velpula. "She has good chances to become an IM, but I wish her to become a GM though," he said.