Bagging the title of the 67th Grandmaster at a chess tournament in Italy, 14-year-old Leon Mendonca has done Goa and the nation proud. Moreover, the win has conferred him with the title of the 2nd Grandmaster, from this coastal state. Leon achieved his 1st GM norm at the Rigo Chess GM Round Robin (16-24 Oct), the 2nd norm came at the First Saturday in Budapest (07-17 Nov) and the final one at the Vergani Cup in Italy (26 -30 Dec).
16 tournaments in 9 months
Mendonca along with his father was stranded in Europe in March, due to the COVID-induced lockdown. But finding a silver lining in the clouds, they took part in several chess tournaments during this period with a motive to achieve the GM title. Since March till December, Mendonca played in 16 tournaments and from an ELO rating of 2452 points, he jumped to 2544.
Back in 2019, Leon had also taken part in a camp organised by Microsense in Chennai, when former world champions Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand trained a number of Indian players. On his grand win, Mendonca stated that he was delighted with this new title as it has stemmed from sincere efforts and he further thanked several people, including his coach and sponsors, for the success.
After achieving the second GM norm, Leon’s father, Lyndon was quoted saying, “It has been challenging to stay in Europe and for him to compete in events. We have been staying in Airbnb rooms.” He further added, “Also, it has been difficult to plan for tournaments due to the uncertainty. But it has been a rewarding one though.”
