Relieved to have achieved goal, says India’s 63rd Grandmaster Girish A. Koushik
India’s 63rd Grandmaster Girish A. Koushik stated that he was more relieved than happy upon achieving the feat much later than the 22-year-old was touted to be. Koushik got it at the 37th Balaton International Chess Festival after he got his previous GM norms in Mallorca and Budapest.
Koushik had a brilliant start to his career early on, garnering titles for fun and completing his first GM norm as early as in 2011. However, the once bright prospect had to go through financial turmoil before Koushik and his family had to choose academic over chess.
Quitting chess at 15, Koushik didn’t play at the higher levels of the sport for nearly seven years and eventually got the final norm of GM only in last week in Hungary. After completing the second GM norm in Mallorca Koushik got his third in Budapest and only needed 11 Elo rating points from the figure of 2500 (live).
“It’s an amazing feeling. I am relieved that I have achieved my goal,” said Koushik, who became Karnataka’s third GM after MS Thej Kumar and GA Stany, in an interview with The Hindu.
With his engineering degree now over, Koushik is now eyeing his chess career once again although he would be needing a top coach to participate regularly in major tournaments.
“With the right training, I’m convinced he can get to 2600 and maybe even higher. Seven years ago, we were at a crossroads and we had to abandon his chess dreams. Now, we are at another turning point in his life. If we can find sponsorship, our choice would still be chess. It is my hope,” he added.