Chess, like almost anything worthwhile in India, has been considered a male territory till a woman came, conquered it like a boss and proved that women can do it too and do it really well for that matter. Sandhya Goli is the new addition to the list of women who have checkmated gender prejudice right in the face as she ranks second among Asian Women Amateurs and is eyeing the Women’s Grandmaster title now.

The 27-year-old  chess champion started playing chess as a hobby when she was 13. Last five years have witnessed Sandhya creating a niche for herself in a game that hardly any women play in India. Sandhya also won the National Women Amateur Championship last year.

Sandhya was drawn to the game when she witnessed her father’s friend’s daughter playing the game during a visit to their house. She and her brother expressed the desire to play to her father who sought out his friend’s help to learn the basics of the game. The siblings soon started relishing the game after learning how to play and also participated in the school level chess competition when Sandhya lost in the first round itself. But that didn’t demoralize her at all and she practiced the game for an entire year only to secure the first position next year.

Sandhya’s interest in chess inspired her parents to send her to chess coaching classes and she then scored the first rank in Under-19 girls state chess championship which also happened to be her national debut. Her father struggled to fund her coaching and take her to different tournaments and consequently sold the house and withdrew money from his provident fund to finance his daughter’s pursuit and didn’t pay any heed to anyone who advised him otherwise.

Sandhya had her International debut in 2013 with the Sri Lanka Open Chess Championship. She won the Women’s Champion Trophy in the competition and decided to dedicate herself to chess wholeheartedly at that moment itself. The five years that followed witness a series of wins for her as she won mixed doubles at the World Open Chess tournament in 2014 with Yogesh Gautam followed by a silver medal at the World Women Amateur Championship in Greece and then a bronze medal at the Asian Women Amateur Championship in Iran.

Sandhy won a silver at Asian Women Amateur in Thailand and secured the first place in National Women Amateur in Delhi last year. She is now eyeing the World Women Amateur and Asian Amateur tournaments now.

Sandhya applies the same philosophy that she applies to chess in her life as well. She says, “Normally, before a game in chess, we find minimum three to four variations our opponent’s game. This applies to real life as well. While trying to solve any situation or a problem, I always keep three to four solutions, which has made me mentally stronger.”

“I am currently not earning money or doing any job. I am on my way to becoming a Women’s International Master, and later a Women’s Grandmaster; only then will chess become lucrative,” says the gifted chess player as she expresses that she is yet to earn money from the game and she is currently being sponsored by Mytrah Energy.

H/T: Your Story