Top of the Class

#54 The Youngest Ever Chess Grandmaster, 12-year-old Abhi Mishra, Talks Training, Competing and More

July 24, 2021 Crimson Education Season 1 Episode 54
Top of the Class
#54 The Youngest Ever Chess Grandmaster, 12-year-old Abhi Mishra, Talks Training, Competing and More
Show Notes Transcript

The Youngest Ever Chess Grandmaster ft. Abhimanyu Mishra

Episode Summary

The Top of the Class welcomes Abhimanyu Mishra as this week’s guest. Abhi recently broke a 19-year-old world record in becoming the youngest ever chess Grandmaster at just 12 years of age.

Abhi gives an insight into his journey including how he trains, what his next goal is and how he manages to fit in school alongside 12 hours of chess practice a day. 

[00:01:54] Abhi's favourite chess websites and books


[00:04:03] Planning to become a chess Grandmaster


[00:06:51] The difference stages of play - open, middle and endgame


[00:09:09] How Abhi stays focused during long tournaments


[00:11:17] How Abhi copes with making mistakes


[00:16:25] Fitting in school alongside his chess commitments


[00:18:26] The role his parents played


[00:19:53] Chess around the world and where he sees other top young players coming from


[00:23:13] Revising for games and developing his memory


[00:24:28] Request for sponsorship


Quotes from this Episode:

"It doesn't matter how old they are, what their rating is, everything is about the quality of the moves on the board. I mean, I don't think there's much else to it." [00:16:13]

"I would say that it definitely takes a lot of your time. I mean, if you only do it as a side thing, I think it's very, very difficult to to go above a certain level."   [00:24:12]

Resources and links

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SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Grandmaster, game, chess, play, chess players, tournament, patterns, people, grandmasters, bit, Crimson, players, point, Hungary, memory, youngest, learning, plan, super, endgame

SPEAKERS

Abhimanyu Mishra, Podcast Host


Podcast Host  00:00

Hi, Abhi, welcome to the Top of the Class podcast. It's awesome to have you on the show. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?


Abhimanyu Mishra  00:24

Hello, everyone. This is Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra here. I'm the youngest International Grandmaster in the world.


Podcast Host  00:30

Well, there you go. So it must be a bit of a thing to be introducing yourself now as Grandmaster Abhimanyu, how does that feel?


Abhimanyu Mishra  00:40

It feels amazing. Finally, all my hard work has finally paid off.


Podcast Host  00:44

Yeah, it certainly does sound like a lot of hard work. I heard in one of your interviews, that you're putting something like 12 hours a day into chess. Is that correct? Yes, sometimes even more? Well, can you break that down a little bit for me? Because when I heard that number, I was like, does that mean that he's just playing for 12 hours a day? Or does that also mean you're reading or you're studying past games? Like what is 12 hours look like in terms of chess?


Abhimanyu Mishra  01:10

Yeah, some time is playing the game, some online games, some quick games, some time is going into studying for the next for the next reading openings for the next games, the upcoming upcoming tournaments. Sometimes yeah, I look at some top players games and see how they play and and try to see what I can do like them. Just books. It's not just playing games all day, or 12 hours. It's all perceptions.


Podcast Host  01:35

One of the things that I wanted to get from you, as well as like a bit of a list of your favorite resources or websites or things that you have found helpful to getting you to Grandmaster in your journey. And I know that's like, yeah, can't be anything websites, books, or even some of your coaches, which I know have been very instrumental in helping you get to where you are.


Abhimanyu Mishra  01:54

Yeah, sure. Definitely. The things that have helped me the most are my coaches. I can say without a doubt. I mean, my coaches are around preservative ammonium. McGinnis. Chandran and Hari Krishna Fatah. They all helped me in a very, very big way. Without them, I can't be up here. And and yeah, some really good books that they've helped me. Say. So diversity is endgame manual. It's very, very high quality book. And yeah, a guards hash calculation series. I mean, these are very advanced books. But I mean, after you get applied, this is what's needed.


Podcast Host  02:24

Yeah, yeah. And do you have any access to like websites where you play online games? Like, do you have a favorite place to meet good chess players online?


Abhimanyu Mishra  02:33

I mean, just commonly, just these two are very good websites where you can play against anyone and and the higher you go up, of course, the higher rated points equal.


Podcast Host  02:41

Now, let's rewind back a little bit, because I know for myself, and I'm sure for a lot of listeners, they might not be too familiar with chess, and what a grandmaster actually made. And the fact that you have just broken a 19 year old world record, in becoming it's like 19, or 20 years old world record, to become the youngest ever chess grandmaster. So can you take us through the levels that you have to go through to become a grandmaster.


Abhimanyu Mishra  03:12

So you need a 2500 meter read in 2500. And you need three notes. A norm is basically a certain performance of 2600 in a tournament, which is like nine rounds. And there are a few there are a few other things like you need to have a certain average opponent rating and they have to be from, they have to be at least three grandmasters you have to play. And some Federation's like you have to play against different Federation people.


Podcast Host  03:37

Let me get this straight, you got to play a couple of different grandmasters, you have to play nine rounds in some tournament. It's like a lot of different requirements to become a grandmaster. So it must have been a goal for you For how long? Like how long have you set your sights on becoming a grandmaster?


Abhimanyu Mishra  03:53

I mean, ever since I've started playing chess, I've always jumped to becoming the youngest Grandmaster in the world. I mean, it all started from just from the start of that when my dad introduced me to the game at two and a half.


Podcast Host  04:03

Right, right. And so what does that plan look like? Because obviously, having the goal or dream of becoming a grandmaster is all well and good. But I know that like, you know, with COVID, throwing the spanner in the works and a lot of different tournaments, I'm sure being canceled or going online, these types of things. There must have been though a pretty long plan for you in terms of like, Okay, I'm going to have to win these games to get these norms. I'm going to have to win these games to get invited to this tournament, like, was there a plan like that or you just kind of winging it and just entering as many things as you possibly could.


Abhimanyu Mishra  04:37

I mean, I also became the youngest international master and when, when that when I made the record, I had around like 2122 months, I had a lot of time, almost two years. And then COVID came in and for one one half year, I wasn't able to play many games. So then we came we came up with the plan to come to you come to Europe in Hungary and play as many tournaments as I possibly could. So there are some invitations. events that you could play to get become a grandmaster like, you would need to get, they will tell you in advance how many points you need for particular this norm and they get the norm, and they will take care of the Grandmaster quite the amount of grandmasters needed and the Federation problem.


Podcast Host  05:15

Right, fantastic. Now, what does it mean now for you to have Grandmaster attached to your name? Like, what does it mean for your future in the game? What does it mean for you, like personally going forward?


Abhimanyu Mishra  05:27

I mean, of course, I'm very, very happy. And it's a mark of my hard work and everything. But I mean, this is just the start of it. I mean, my next goal is to reach 2700, which is a super Grandmaster.


Podcast Host  05:40

And your final goal is to become world champion. And I've heard that you're super Grandmaster isn't an official title, like grandmasters. An official title super Grandmaster isn't official, but it's just like, accepted that a rank of 2700 is like the thing to get to to be a super Grandmaster. Is that what your hero Magnus is at the moment?


Abhimanyu Mishra  06:00

Magnus is the world champion. I mean, I've looked up to him, since I've started playing as because he's after becoming World Champion, he is very, very, very consistent. Like, mostly no one is coming close to him. And and also, the way he plays in the end game is also very, very inspirational for me.


Podcast Host  06:17

Yeah, I've heard that breaking down a game into open middle and end game is something that Oh, no, when I hear endgame, I think of Marvel cinema and Iron Man and these kinds of things. I'm not, I'm not suggesting that that's what we're talking about. Here. We're talking about chess, open, middle and end. So could you talk our listeners through the three stages of a chess game, and how they are so different compared to like, what most people might think, because when I think of chess, I just think of an entire game. I'm just like, playing, right? Whereas you're like, go to strategy for each section. 


Abhimanyu Mishra  06:51

Sure. So the opening is, when at a high level, both of the players to come very prepared and up to at least tend to Team rules, they both come prepared, and they they just make everything else instantly. The middle game is when when I think is the most you can say creative part of the game, where people that use a lot of different ideas to try to gain some kind of advantage and so on. And the end game is when the game is going towards the end. I mean, no, no one is saying that it'll end very soon. But yeah, it's going relatively talk more towards the end. Like you're trying to win.


Podcast Host  07:23

Yeah. Right. And what do you think is the most important part of the game? And what do you think you're most strongest in?


Abhimanyu Mishra  07:31

I mean, there's the most important part because I mean, if you say you mess up in the opening, then the rest of the game, you're going to be struggling. And the same for the other two parts. Like if you mess up in the end game. Okay, that same problem. And, yeah, I think all parts are equally important. And what's your strongest part? I mean, I would probably say endgame, as I have studied many endgame books, and so on. So it definitely helps me play better.


Podcast Host  07:55

Right now, one thing I was also interested in, and this is kind of related to the fact that I'm currently watching Queen's gambit is that, you know, it's interesting looking at it from that particular show, and the way they represented how she thinks about chess. Now, I don't know if you've seen the show, either. But like she she doesn't necessarily see the pieces in the chessboard, she sees like images of patterns, and all these different things moving around and different strategies and, and different past games that she can perhaps replicate and these kinds of things, she can do a lot of it in her head. And I wonder if that's the same for you at all, like whether you see chess pieces, or whether you see patterns and strategies and past games, like after studying for 12 hours a day, I'm going to guess like you've gone beyond just saying a porn as a porn, like you're seeing more patterns. Is that clear? 


Abhimanyu Mishra  08:46

Definitely, I think is their interest that I mean, to become a great player, you need to, you need to learn a lot of patterns and try to keep using them in different positions. I mean, so save this one time doesn't work in this position, you can try the next one, and sometimes it works. And, and you and sometimes you learn new patterns, so that So yeah, I think that I mean, of course, pawn is a pawn. But yeah, I see a lot of fights too.


Podcast Host  09:09

Right. So if what would be some of your recommendations? Would it be studying patterns? Or would it be just playing? Or would it be looking at games, like your games, for instance, you know, games of grandmasters, and seeing what they do in tough situations, like what advice would you give to students?


Abhimanyu Mishra  09:27

I would say that to improve in chess, of course, during the game, you have to be very calm, and at the same time very focused. And yeah, for the studying part as it's concerned. I think that Yeah, looking at a lot of top players, games, and learning more patterns from their games is definitely very helpful. And yeah, learning more tactical themes and patterns is also very helpful.


Podcast Host  09:48

Now, I want to know a little bit more about the attention and the focus side of things because I guess most 12 year olds aren't necessarily known for having a great focus or attention span, if you know what I mean. Right most 12 year olds have like five minutes or three minutes, and then, you know, phone or whatever it might be. But you're able to focus for a very, very long period of time. I know you've played some Simon's before as well. So playing multiple games at once, obviously, like some of the tournament's are extremely arduous in terms of like the focus needed to win. So how is that developed for you? And how does chess keep you focused? Like, how do you stay laser focused and in the zone when you're playing a game?


Abhimanyu Mishra  10:31

I mean, I guess I, I stayed so focused, because I mean, this game means a lot to me. And, I mean, they're, I think that there's no point of just being focused for one to move. And I mean, after some point, then all your hard work, you're in the in the end, that one game itself, all your hard work will go to waste. So I tried to get I've remained focused on some things to help me focus on that before every game, I do a short prayer. And I've learned some breathing exercises. So these also definitely helped me stay focused.


Podcast Host  10:58

Okay, but I'm sure that the difference between you having a great game and you having a not so good game, mainly comes down to focus. Is that correct?


Abhimanyu Mishra  11:08

Yes, I believe that chess is a game that requires a lot of concentration. And without that, I mean, even the best of the best players they can, they can mess up badly.


Podcast Host  11:17

Can you tell me a time where you feel like you've messed up badly. And then like, it must be so interesting as a chess player, right? Where you make a move. And sometimes the tournament's require the rule of like, once you touch the pace, you can't touch it again, right? Once you move in touch the pace. That's it, right, you've made your move. Yeah. But it must be very difficult in that sense, then, like when you've made a move, and then the moment after you've made it, you realize it wasn't the right one, and that you've kind of stuffed up and then that move is just staring at you until you can correct it or until like you know it, it kind of can change the course of the entire game. So how do you regain your composure? when things don't go to plan or when you've made a mistake that you didn't want to make?


Abhimanyu Mishra  12:00

Yes, this, this situation that you're mentioning that happened that happened before to me? I mean, I just tried that. Okay, wherever you've messed up, you've already messed up. There's no point to keep thinking about that. Because then there's no point to mess up the later part of the game, too. So I just tried to keep trying to keep moving on.


Podcast Host  12:17

Yeah, you can just leave it at one mistake, right? Like, you don't want to keep making two mistakes, three mistakes, four mistakes, if you can get out of a game with one mistake. Is that usually an acceptable game for you? Or is that like, Are you trying to play or obviously, like you're trying to play a faultless game every single time, but he's like, making a one mistake of that Grandmaster level is that mean? Pretty much it's over?


Abhimanyu Mishra  12:40

I mean, it depends how big the mistake is. And like, what kind of mistake it is, like. So sometimes, mistakes are giving up material, like lending some kind of tactic, or, or some positional kind of mistake. I mean, but yeah, I mean, generally, one mistake can change everything.


Podcast Host  12:56

Right. So it's a pretty high pressure environment there. And I think a lot of people probably think that high pressure might be having crowds and these kinds of things around you. And sometimes you do play in front of crowds like pre COVID. Does that affect you at all? Like if a crowds there and watching


Abhimanyu Mishra  13:12

When the game is going on, I really don't try to think about these things. I just keep focusing on playing the game because I don't want my attention to get to diverted.


Podcast Host  13:20

Right. So that attention span is obviously like, super, super important. Now take us to the tournament and hungry in where you announced or where you had enough norms and enough rating to become a grandmaster. Can you talk us through that whole experience? What game were you playing to get to that point? And what did it feel like when you finally were a grandmaster?


Abhimanyu Mishra  13:43

Yeah, so the tournament, I had a very good start, I had five out of six, which was in these traumas, you need seven out of nine. So out of the first six rounds, I got five points, which is four wins and two draws. And then the seventh game, I messed up and I lost. And generally, since you only have a two point margin, so after losing, it's very difficult to get it on. Because I mean, you can make less drugs. So after I lost that seventh game, I needed two wins in a row to get the non so the next game it was, it was a very tight game. And somehow in the end, I managed to win. And the most difficult game I can say is my last game where I was black, against a strong Grandmaster, Leon Luqman danka. And that game was the game that made me a grandmaster it was brought the whole game it was very equal. And somewhere in the end, he under time, pressure, he made a mistake. And after that, I was very, very happy. And that was probably the happiest time in my life.


Podcast Host  14:36

What's it been like for you to now become a grandmaster? And is that more pressure for you or less pressure for you now that you've actually become a grandmaster?


Abhimanyu Mishra  14:46

I mean, yeah, I don't really think about these things. But I mean, after becoming Grandmaster, I can say I was more relieved. As when we were in Hungary I was we were staying different, like, we only booked a one way ticket and we were there for around three months. And towards the end, I was Missing non by, by halfway, one point, very marginally. And I was very relieved, of course. And I mean, yeah, I don't really these things I see of course, but yeah, I try not to think too much about that.


Podcast Host  15:10

I guess like now that it's done, it's done you can kind of just relax a little bit and people can watch you and whatnot and and they can check out your future games, but you've achieved what you wanted to achieve at the moment, which is great. Now talking about what what's coming up for you. I've heard you want to go to one of the big tournaments there in the US?


Abhimanyu Mishra  15:29

Yes, I mean, yeah, after some more time, I'm planning to go to some very big some big tournaments, because I mean, after you get a plasters and raiding if you if you keep playing these events, you'll gain less points. So yeah, I'm planning to go to some big tournaments and improve my game. From there.


Podcast Host  15:44

I'm gonna guess there's not too many other 12 year olds running around as like a grand master. Well, obviously, like, there's probably none, a 12 year old and Grandmaster title. What's it like for you? Do you feel like the other players? Like oh my gosh, there's like Abby's, like some kind of genius or prodigy or do you feel like you're an equal among these guys who are maybe like, 1520 years older than you? Like, how do you feel the relationship is with other players around the world?


Abhimanyu Mishra  16:13

I mean, I believe that nothing else matters apart from the moves on the board. I mean, it doesn't matter how old they are, what the rating is, everything is about the quality of the moves on the board. I mean, I don't think there's much else to it.


Podcast Host  16:25

Yeah, and let's talk a little bit more about, you know, what you're doing outside of chess, like in terms of school, I, you still going to school? And when you're doing 12 hours a day on chairs, obviously, like that's your focus. But what's your kind of school chess balance at the moment?


Abhimanyu Mishra  16:39

Yes, school was, it's also a very tricky situation. So to avoid this kind of thing, where I'm missing school last year, I finished two grades in one year. So So I said, this year, I didn't have to go at home, because we knew that this would become very tight. So we decided to just finish two grades and one and just don't Don't, don't even worry about it.


Podcast Host  16:58

Okay, that makes sense. So your school must be pretty flexible than with, with Howard is trying to accommodate you and your chess schedule, right? Yes, there was a private school. Okay, good stuff. Well, you might look at the Crimson Global Academy as well. It's an online school that Crimson runs and students can join part time or full time and it's online. So if you go to Hungary for three months, for instance, you can still do some classes there. So that might be an option for you. But yeah, let's talk a little bit more about what you want to do post High School. Are you thinking about college at the moment at all? Because I know that like some college chess teams are fantastic. There's some really great ones in Texas and Webster University. But are you even intending to go to college, you just going to go straight professional chess player?


Abhimanyu Mishra  17:44

I mean. Now it's a bit too early to think about these things. I haven't even put much thought into this. I mean, probably play the professional chess player.


Podcast Host  17:53

Right, right. Well, I thought some universities might be very interested in your story. And they'll be like, oh, would you have a grandmaster at our tea would be pretty awesome. So yeah, you might see if there's any universities down the track are interested in having you on board? And what role has your parents played in this journey? Because I know that your dad has been like, very, very much a part of your journey to be a Grandmaster and your mom has been a fantastic support as well. But from your side, like, what have they given you that you probably wouldn't be able to do on your own?


Abhimanyu Mishra  18:26

Of course, without my parents, there's none of this, like none of this would have been possible. I mean, yeah, my dad, when I was doing half he started, he's introduced me to the game. The reason was, he was worried that kids were getting too addicted to electronics at the time. So he wanted me to do something else. And yeah, I started liking the game. And his role throughout my whole, my whole career was that he would, I would tell him, Well, route one V, and he would come up with the goals for that. Like, I would say, I want to become a grandmaster and he would come with, you'd come with the requirements of what needs to be done. And yeah,


Podcast Host  18:59

Player manager there in a way where you're like, hey, yeah, this is what I want to do, make it happen. Like, give me the pathway to get there type of thing. Like he's a coach in a way, but more like a planning coach, and your chess coaches are there to actually help you improve your game, so to speak. That's an interesting relationship. And your mom had what role does she play?


Abhimanyu Mishra  19:18

Yeah, she's also been very, very supportive of the whole process. I mean, yes, she was also a big backbone.


Podcast Host  19:26

Have either review like your mom, your dad, you ever thought at some point through the journey? Like, is this worth it? He because it sounds like so much work. I'm just saying like, was there a moment where you're like, let's just not do it anymore, right?


Abhimanyu Mishra  19:41

Yes, it's happened multiple times. But I mean, we just kept on moving on, and that's when the success was very sweet. So whenever it would come it was it gave us more motivation to keep trying.


Podcast Host  19:53

Absolutely. Absolutely. Now, one question I am interested in is that like, in the past, like 50 60, 70 years chess has been a way that world powers, mainly Russia and the US have competed somewhat like, Well, we've got the chess champion and you know, usually it's a Russian like a Garry Kasparov or something like that. But of course, like India is certainly on the rise in terms of chess has always had amazing chess players. And now, you've got obviously some Europeans like Magnus Carlsen, etc. Because you are American and Indian heritage. Do you see yourself more as like playing for America or playing for India? Or like just playing for yourself?


Abhimanyu Mishra  20:34

I mean, I was I was born in the US. I think I'll keep I'll keep representing the US.


Podcast Host  20:41

Okay. Yeah, fair enough. Fair enough. But there are some fantastic players coming up from around the world. Is there any particular hotspot of chess that you say that you're like, Oh, my gosh, the the other students like when I'm talking hotspot of chess, I'm not talking like people who are in their 20s or 30s. But other young people. Do you see any like really great chess players coming out of any particular country?


Abhimanyu Mishra  21:02

Yes, India's definitely has a lot of very strong just parents to name a few cacace COVID. One, Fernanda? Neil, serene, these are all very, very strong and talented young Indian grandmasters.


Podcast Host  21:14

So there may be like, a couple years old or the new? Yeah, like, two, three years old. Right? Right. Do you have a strategy for each person that you play, like, if you are going into a tournament, and you know that, like, you're going to be playing this person, this person, this person, or for instance, like you might even only plan for a grandmaster that you're playing? Right? Like the one that you played in Hungary? Do you have a strategy for them? And it's like a specific plan, or do you just have Abby's plan, and like, you hope it works, regardless of who you're playing?


Abhimanyu Mishra  21:47

I mean, definitely, for some people. After studying their games carefully, we, we sometimes we purposely change the opening, because we feel that sometimes they're weaker in this in decided chess versus other kind of opening. So yeah, I mean, it varies from point to point.


Podcast Host  22:03

Okay, so you are adapting your strategy. How difficult is that to adapt a strategy that you've practiced like, hundreds of times? Or have you practiced like 10 different strategies hundreds of times? Yeah, it's difficult, but it's rewarding at the same time. Yeah. Now, chess players often have phenomenal memories. Is that something that you see as being a common trait among top top chess players? Like having a really amazing memory for games and patterns?


Abhimanyu Mishra  22:31

Yes, definitely. I mean, all these top players, I mean, one that memory is, is essential part of the opening the opening phase, like without good memory, it's very difficult to play to remember all the details of the variations you prepared it. Yeah, you need, you need a very good memory. Sometimes these variations, they got 2530 muslin.


Podcast Host  22:52

Wow. Okay. So when you're trying to remember these patterns, are you literally just like stepping them out on a board? Or how you remembering a long strand of different moves?


Abhimanyu Mishra  23:04

Yeah, I tried to revise as much as I can before the game, because I feel the more revisions helps you remember these kind of things easier.


Podcast Host  23:11

Okay, so what does revision look like for you?


Abhimanyu Mishra  23:13

So my dad would use the laptop, I would, I'll have a board. And so basically, what would happen is, I would say by so there's two more three slides, right. So say it's a file from the white side, I have to play. So I'll say my move, then he says to move from the other side. And we will keep doing this until the variation ends. And if and if anywhere, I got the variation wrong, we will go back from the beginning and do the same thing.


Podcast Host  23:34

It kind of reminds me of like learning lines for a play, right? Yes. like someone's there with the script in front of them. You're the actor in this situation, you have to remember your lines, and I'm there reading the other side, like the other dialogue, and then double checking, like, have you got everything right in the script. So you can be, you know, success on the big stage, which is exactly what you've been doing that, obviously, like, there's so many people out there who want to try and emulate what you've done. What are some of the things that you would warn students about if they were to try and chase the same kind of goal that you've achieved?


Abhimanyu Mishra  24:12

Yes, I would say that it definitely take a lot of your time. I mean, if you if you only do as a side thing, it's I think it's very, very, very difficult to to go above a certain level. And yeah, it's you need a lot of time, and you need a lot of patience, also, good memory, all these all these things,


Podcast Host  24:28

and like, need the whole support of your family and everybody needs to be on board. Like it's not just you having the goal. It's everybody around you having the goal and also like the cost of it all, like having three coaches flying to Hungary. I know that like your dad did a GoFundMe, which was very helpful, I think, like a super smart idea to try and like help fund your journey to becoming a grandmaster. Like, I wouldn't have thought chess is an incredibly expensive sport to play, but at that level, it can be right.


Abhimanyu Mishra  24:58

Yes, currently, my parents live Put in all their life savings. And yeah, based on this thing, I would request all the viewers to help us find some kind of corporate sponsorship.


Podcast Host  25:07

Yeah, well, I know that, that that's a goal at the moment. So we can certainly put the word out for that and saving the eastern sponsorship as well. Because it's one of those things that playing chess at that level, yes, certainly requires a little bit of travel and all these kinds of things. But are there any other advice that you would give to students before we departed? Whether it be about like how to improve their chess game or focus or memory or anything else?


Abhimanyu Mishra  25:32

Yeah, I would say that you have to work very hard. And, and yet, learning tactics, and a lot of teams will definitely help you a lot.


Podcast Host  25:40

Fantastic. Well, Abhi, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you on the show. Thanks so much for giving up your time. And all the best for your journey to become a super Grandmaster. For students who wanted to follow along with your journey, what would be the best way to do that?


Abhimanyu Mishra  25:52

Yeah, you can see my games from the from the websites like chess24 is a good website, whenever, whenever there's some event going on, it'll show it'll show all the games of that event. So yeah, I mean, these kind of websites, definitely, they can help you see my games.


Podcast Host  26:06

Okay, so just 24 we'll put your Twitter handle in there as well. And of course, like if they can potentially find you in chess comm they can go on and, and maybe play you, but I'm going to guess you're quite selective about who you play, right?


Abhimanyu Mishra  26:20

Yeah, I tried to play higher rated people. Because, I mean, I don't really have that much time.


Podcast Host  26:27

Right. So if you're a student who wants to play Abhimanyu, you better hope that you're a grandmaster as well. So you can at least get a game, because time is precious. So you can't be spending too much time playing anyone. So all right. Well, thank you so much for your time again, and look forward to sharing the episode far and wide.  Thanks for listening to top of the class. Subscribe for future episodes for show notes and to plan your best future head to crimsoneducation.org