The story of Nagalakshmi
The story of Nagalakshmi who shaped the careers of her kids, the men's world number 4 chess player and his sister, the women world number 15, is well-known. She has been pivotal in helping these talented young buds through their teenage years by maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the duo via home cooked food (even lugging along an induction stove and rice cooker when travelling with her kids to tournaments!).
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
Indian chess talent, seven-year-old Adhvaan Oswal, and his mom. His mom was very delighted to hear that I am writing this article for ChessBase.
Despite little understanding of the nuances of chess, she can gauge the progress of her kids' games through their expressions and stands ready in tournaments to encourage them and help them adjust to tough situations through her omnipresence.
This lady from Chennai, India, whom 19-year-old R. Praggnanandhaa (still a teen!) and 24-year old R. Vaishali, call 'mom', is rightfully 'conferred' the title of 'Amazing Chess Mom' by Grandmaster Susan Polgar.
Her unwavering support and ever-present role in her kids' chess ecosystem is undeniable, and she is the cog of the wheel that propelled Pragg and Vaishali to become the 'double firsts' of siblings Grandmasters and siblings at the Candidates!
Her story is one that mirrors many other mothers (and fathers!) of chess talents all around the world – it is a story of sacrifice, a story of investment of time, energy, money and more to help shape the future of these kids.
Chess dad, Thien, of Vietnam with his son. He obviously had to take 12 days off work just to accompany his eight-year-old son, the 1781-rated Huynh Thien An, for this event, which is the boy's first-ever chess tournament outside of Vietnam. Behind him, wearing a mask, is the mom of eight-year old Evelyn Liu of the United States of America.
Chess parents: Omnipresent figures outside tournament halls
In the recently concluded 23rd ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships 2025 in Penang, Malaysia, hundreds of chess parents from the 10 ASEAN nations and 7 more dialogue-partner countries (covering nations as far apart as the Land of the Rising Sun in the East and the USA in the West) of the close to 400 boys and girls who competed in this 11-day chess battle across formats (Standard, Rapid, Blitz) were anxiously accompanying their kids, some as young as six years old to 'battle'.
WCM Bui Thi Ngoc Chi (White) vs. Nguyen Ha Khanh Linh (Black) in this all-Vietnamese battle on the top board
By opting for a fianchetto setup, you embrace unbalanced and strategically rich positions, steering away from predictable theory battles.
The Modern Defence (1…g6) is more than just a move – it’s a statement. By opting for a fianchetto setup, you embrace unbalanced and strategically rich positions, steering away from predictable theory battles. This approach allows Black to develop along the long diagonal, patiently targeting White’s strong centre instead of directly challenging it. If you‘re looking to play for a full point with Black, this opening is the perfect addition to your repertoire.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King's Indian Links 4.c4 e5 Firouzja vs Carlsen
Adhvaan Oswal (White) vs. top seeded Huynh Thien An (Black) in the Under-8 category
Besides 'doing the Nagalakshmi' by ensuring their kids get their meals and nutrition and packing along snacks, water bottles and jackets for their kids (in anticipation of the cold air conditioner of the playing hall), these chess moms (and quite a number of dads) can be seen snapping photos of their kids and encouraging them, protectively trying to raise out key points to organisers for better playing conditions for their kids and then retreating outside to the foyer area and waiting rooms while waiting for their children to be done with their games.
Chess parents – fully devoted to their kids' progress - willingly waited for hours for their offsprings' games to finish. Surfing the phone is a commonly done activity to kill time.
Side-by-side photos of the moms of Evelyn Liu and Oo Ke Chien coming over to talk to their daughters and giving them a little pep talk before the start of their round 1 game
Stories of commitment and sacrifices by chess moms (and dads!)
On the sideline of the tournament, we managed to catch up with a couple of chess parents (and their kids) to learn about their chess journeys so far. From the many Malaysian chess parents whom we met to those in the ASEAN region and also beyond it. We heard of the chess journeys of their kids and teens. We heard of the dreams – for medals, titles and ratings.
We heard of the commitment, effort, time (i.e. parents taking leave) and money put in. This last point, speaking of which, one unnamed chess parent told us:
This isn't cheap. When my child gets selected to represent the country, I have to pay for his participation in the tournament overseas. Think of the air tickets, hotel accommodation, tournament fee and others!
Not forgetting the training – local coaches charge around USD 30-40, and then we'd need to upgrade to foreign coaches as my son's peers have all done so!
Chess is after all an individual game and the required training and work can be rather lonely by the kids or teens themselves and with the coaches. Parental presence and influence come via the scheduling of the kids and teens' daily lives of school, extracurricular activities and chess. We spoke to two parents extensively about their experiences so far – Mr Thien, father of 1781-rated Huynh Thien An (simply known as An) from Vietnam, and Bonnie, mom of 8-year-old Oo Ke Chien from Chinese Taipei.
When asked as to what made Mr Thien introduce chess to An, he said that the initial start was as a casual hobby. But things started to progress for the boy and there was something special in him – it was not an easy feat to get close to 1800 rating as an 8-year-old. "I want him to develop intelligence and thinking skills, so I help him to play chess", shared Mr Thien. An, who has only been playing chess for two years, spends two hours daily to train on chess.
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Similar to An, 8-year-old Chinese Taipei player Oo Ke Chien has a daily chess routine as well.
Bonnie, mom of Ke Chien, shared that her daughter spends two to three hours daily to work on chess. With her schooling time on weekdays ending around 3 pm daily, this is a pretty strong commitment for the kid. Besides puzzle work and online play, she also uses ChessBase – a pretty serious work by the kid. The kid likes the organised nature of ChessBase!
Daily commitments aside, both these chess parents have taken time out to travel from afar over here to Penang. For Mr Thien, his son gets regular tournament play in Vietnam. His boy plays between one and three tournaments monthly, and this ASEAN+ Age Group event is the kids0 international debut. "He is practicing for the Asian tournament at the end of this year", added Mr. Thien.
As for Bonnie, she shared that this Asean+ Age Group event is a great opportunity for her daughter to play against OTB chess against like-for-like opponents of her age range. She said:
My daughter (likes) to play in person. Unfortunately, there are not too many chess tournaments in Taiwan, and it is not easy to find opponents of the same or higher levels.
According to the chess mom, this trip – beyond chess – also serves as a great mother-daughter bonding time for some adventures and travels at the end of the event.
Interviews with kids and parents
Chess kids (and teens): Thank you, Mom (and Dad)!
With chess moms (and dads) doing so much for their kids, we asked these teens and kids on what would they say to their parents after the game. 17-year-old Nguyen Ha Khanh Linh of Vietnam said, "Mom, Dad, I did it!" Her opponent in round 1, WCM Bui Thi Ngoc Chi, would say, "I won, I won!"
Echoing this was 8-year-old An, when we asked him the same question by quipping, "I win". An was also asked on what would he ask from his dad if his game did not go well and he lost it. We asked if he would ask his dad for a hug. It seems not – according to Mr Thien! Rather, it is more like a neutral approach to move on from the defeat with the notion of, "Ok, come and let's go and eat".
Regardless of what we'd see and hear of the kids and teens outward sharing of words and messages, we can be sure that all these young chess talents are fully aware of their parents' sacrifices, and they are eternally thankful to them. We see the same gratitude expressed by Pragg and Vaishali to their mom, and we are sure the same is true of all chess kids and teens here at the 23rd ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships 2025 in Penang, Malaysia.
Thank you, chess moms and dads! You all are the best!
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