‘Drew inspiration from incidents in life,’ says Shyam Nikhil on his journey to third GM Norm

Just like King Robert the Bruce was inspired by a spider persistently attempting to spin a web in a cave, India’s 85th chess Grand Master P. Shyam Nikhil, at one point in his 12-year wait for his third and final GM norm, was inspired by a crab on a Sri Lankan seashore. “So, after I finish every round, she used to send me a message, that WhatsApp sticker kind of thing - like, ‘Super.’ “Every day and night, there were conversations like this. I’m now looking into a recent book on how to play unconventional chess.” With the GM title having been ticked off, Shyam feels like he’s “beginning” his chess career. He mentioned that he has managed to enter the “elite zone” and now has the goal of improving his Elo rating to 2600 to reach the ‘Super GM’ level.