Mayank Chakraborty becomes first GM from Northeast India (Special Arrangement) NEW DELHI: On Saturday morning, Rajib Dhar, general secretary of the All Assam Chess Association, had a good night’s sleep. And why not? His protégé, Mayank Chakraborty, just secured his final Grand Master (GM) standard at the 8th GM tournament in Sweden. This made the 16-year-old the first ever Grandmaster from Assam and Northeast India and the 94th overall in the country.However, the sleep did not last. Dhar felt a blow and heard a faint but very familiar voice, “Father?” Daddy?” It was Dhar’s little girl clutching the chessboard close to her chest.“She is not much interested in chess yet, but today she tells me, ‘Dad, you are also teaching me like you did with Mayank Dada. I am also going to become the first WGM (Woman Grandmaster) from Assam. If Mayank Dada can do it, then I can do it too,'” Dhar said during an exclusive conversation with TimesofIndia.com.
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Mayank, born in 2009, was around seven when his mother, Dr Monomita Chakraborty, a gynaecologist, approached Dhar via Messenger.
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Settled in Pandu (a small locality in Guwahati), she was looking for someone nearby to teach her restless son the basics of chess. Dhar, who is also from the same place and trained Assam’s star International Master (IM) Shahil Dey, agreed.“In the beginning, his tactical skills were great, but he was a bit impatient and very restless, like children of that age. But later he developed beautifully,” recalled Dhar.Mayank, who is now 16, soon started showcasing his board skills on the domestic circuit and became a three-time national champion across various age groups.“He has such a high level of confidence; he’s never afraid of whoever sits across the board,” Dhar said.
Mayank Chakraborty (special arrangement)
Sensing Mayank’s innate potential to become a GM, Dhar had sought financial help from All India Chess Federation (AICF) president Nitin Narang last year.“We have just asked our AICF president Nitin Narang about the sponsorship,” he revealed. “We told him he has the talent to become a grandmaster, so we need a sponsor. He immediately said, ‘Okay, I will give Rs 2.5 million for his next tournaments’.”The investment paid off quite handsomely, one might say.
The Mother’s Gambit
However, as they say, behind every successful man is a woman. For Mayank, that woman is Monomita. To call her an “insider” would be an understatement.Dhar still remembers the moment that perfectly describes her sacrifice.“I remember when I went to give her the ChessBase pendrive. She was in the middle of the surgery and she came out for a second with her gloves still covered in blood just to make sure Mayank got his materials,” Dhar revealed.When she was on night duty at the hospital, Mayank would often be in the ward practicing his lines while his mother worked.
Mayank Chakraborty plays with black pieces (special arrangement)
However, balancing eventually became impossible. In 2022, Monomita quit her government job to travel full-time with her son.“There was no one else to take Mayank to tournaments,” said Dhar. “His mother’s dedication is huge. She left everything because chess was the number one priority for them. This success is entirely due to her.”Monomita explained how her husband accompanied their son before she started traveling full-time. “My husband, Keshab Chakraborty, worked in Airtel. I couldn’t travel much in the early days of Mayank’s journey as I was still working till 2022. So initially it was my husband who accompanied him to tournaments,” Monomita told TimesofIndia.com from Sweden.She further explained why traveling with her son became a necessity, adding, “Later, after my father-in-law passed away, we had some family problems and my husband couldn’t travel as much anymore. That’s when I started accompanying Mayank. At one point, Mayank was also facing some health issues; he developed sinusitis and severe allergies.”“Colds, especially when we travel abroad, often trigger his cold allergy. Sometimes he needs medical help and it can be quite difficult and expensive for us to manage in a foreign country. So in those situations it was important for me to be there with him and accompany him on his travels.”
The climax of the quest
For Monomita, winning in Sweden is the culmination of a quest that has been as much about regional pride as individual excellence.“Since 1988, when Viswanathan Anand became India’s first Chief Executive, Assam and the entire Northeast have been waiting,” Monomita told this website.“When Mayank started playing chess seriously, his only goal was, ‘I will be the first grandmaster from Assam and the Northeast.’ With this motivation, we advanced.”The path was not linear. The COVID-19 pandemic halted their momentum for two years, and the transition from International Master (IM) to Grandmaster proved to be a psychological mountain.
Mayank Chakraborty (special arrangement)
Between August 2023 and early 2026, Mayank’s rating fluctuated wildly.“It was a demotivating phase,” admitted Monomita. “He was a bit skeptical, because if you play too strongly or aggressively, you lose rating points. I told him, ‘Once you touch 2,500, the rest is just a matter of months.’In Sweden, Mayank secured the norm with a bike hub. The final round was a mere formality, a victory lap for a boy who had spent half his life chasing sixty-four squares.
A mother’s cry for support
While the GM title is now a reality, the financial reality of elite chess is a different story. The Chakraborty family drained their savings and liquidated fixed deposits to finance trips to Europe where the most competitive tournaments are held.“Chess is very expensive and time-consuming,” admitted Monomita. “It’s not like other sports where you keep the ‘belt’ forever. In chess, one second of lost concentration and your ranking, your pride, is gone. To reach 2600, he needs to play in elite tournaments against the top 20 players in the world. But that requires significant funding.”
Mayank Chakraborty (special arrangement)
Infrastructure in the Northeast, though improving through initiatives like Khel Mahotsav, still lacks corporate support in states like Tamil Nadu or Maharashtra.“I have reached a level where I have to choose my priorities. My son is doing something for Assam as a whole,” said Monomita, pride and urgency mixed in her voice.READ ALSO: India gets first WIM from Northeast: How 15-year-old Arshiya Das rewrites chess geography“I disposed of what I could of my government job savings. Now his future depends on government help and corporate support. My son has the capacity and he believes in himself. If people believe in him, I’ll just follow him and let him continue on his way.”Back in Guwahati, children will be waking up their parents with chessboards in hand, ready to walk the path finally cleared by the 94th Grandmaster.
