Sister act

Sister-duo Vaibhavi and Vaishnavi Thakur scale new heights.

Two vibrant sisters, Vaibhavi (14) and Vaishnavi Thakur (11), have been creating ripples in the world of chess. Students of Amity International School, Sector 46, Gurgaon, this sister-duo has achieved a lot at this young age.
Vaibhavi says, "All chess players are 'not brainy nerds' because many of the chess players like us play other games too. We both love dancing and painting and I also have a diploma in Bharatnatyam." While Vaishnavi says, "Like the Williams sisters, we also compete with each other in a healthy way and try to give our best. In chess, one has to think ahead and have a strategy."
Why do they like to play chess? These sisters got into a little competition of their own as to who will answer the question first. Then they both agreed that they both love to play chess and meet a lot of people.
According to them, it is really fun to go to the tournaments. Vaibhavi says, "Our father Vishwas Thakur, who himself was a state champion of Maharashtra long back, got us into this sport. But he has never forced us to perform, he always says give your best shot whether it is studies or a chess tournament."
Their late mother Chanderkala always stays alive in their memories. Vishwas, who is a doctor by profession and works with Hero Honda as CMO said, "Now, the techniques to learn chess have changed a lot. There are private coaches, seminars, even self-help books where kids can analyse their game by taking tests such as 'New Positions Test', 'Rook and Pawn Test' and 'Novice Test'. 'Test, Evaluate and Improve Your Chess' is one of these books. Schools and colleges are also giving scholarships not for academic excellence but for giving best in sports."
On asking the benefits of chess, Vaibhavi lights up and joyfully describes in detail how it helps her in mathematics. As an afterthought, after describing certain chess moves, she mentions that winning the grand master is her dream and her love for this game is true. She also points out that one can't make a career in chess if he's the best but he or she also needs to have a top rank.
Vaibhavi stood first in BHEL, Delhi State School Team Under-15, Haryana State Chess championship and Haryana Olympic State Games and many more competitions and has impressed everybody. While Vaishnavi has also been impressive and has bagged many prizes at state and school level. She has participated in many competitions.
Both sisters are presently playing a FIDE-rated competition at Ghaziabad and are expecting good results.

The Inspiration
Our father Vishwas Thakur, who himself was a state champion of Maharashtra long back, got us into this sport. But he has never forced us to perform, he always says give your best shot whether it is studies or a chess tournament.

--Prateek Chauhan