Who Is Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha? Complaint Filed Against India’s 3-Year-Old Chess Prodigy Days After He Became Youngest-Ever FIDE-Rated Player

Sarvagya Singh Kushwaha, a three-year-old from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh made headlines after earning an official FIDE rating and becoming the youngest player to achieve the feat. But now, concerns have been raised alleging that his rating may have been secured through violations of fair-play norms with international chess federation. 

A complaint submitted to FIDE claims that the boy’s historic achievement was influenced by “clear violations of FIDE’s fair-play principles by coaches”. It further claimed that the opponents that he has defeated were the coaches from the same academy where he trains. 

“It appears that the rating was achieved through unfair means, involving clear violations of FIDE’s fair play principles by the coaches or individuals supervising the games,” the complaint notes.

Sarvagya’s father Siddharth Singh Kushwaha and coach Nitin Chaurasiya are pretty aware of the allegations. “In Sagar, the local chess association is split into two groups. One faction is targeting the other, and my son has become collateral damage,” Kushwaha told The Indian Express.

“They are trying to discredit his achievement for political reasons.”

The young kid had defeated Abhijeet Awasthi (1542), Shubham Chourasiya (1559), and Yogesh Namdev (1696) across tournaments in Khandwa, Indore, Chhindwara and Mangaluru and as per the family, it is a mere coincidence that the three come from Sagar. 

“Just because these players are from Sagar and familiar faces doesn’t imply wrongdoing,” Kushwaha said.

“Yes, they run academies, and so do I. They are competitors, not collaborators.”

Another allegation was made that Sarvagya and Namdev reportedly joined after the official draw and their names were added manually which is a standard procedure for late-comers. They were paired together and Kushwaha won that game. The complaint further claimed that Namdev had gone to washroom in the final stages of the 10-minute rapid game. 

“It wasn’t just my son; several children arrived late and were paired manually. There was nothing unusual,” Kushwaha said.

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