Sacrifices, slumps and success: The rise of Singapore’s youngest chess grandmaster

SINGAPORE – Mr Siddharth Jagadeesh’s chess career began at age six with a question to his father.

“What is so special about that game? You are watching it all the time,” he asked his father, Mr Jagadeesh Balakrishnan, who would spend hours watching battles between renowned chess champions Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand on YouTube.

They soon started playing chess against each other, with the father losing on purpose to encourage the youngster.

But it was not too long before Mr Siddharth won on his own merits, rising through the ranks of youth competitions and beating older players as well as adults in Singapore and internationally.

“By (the time I was) 10 or 11 years old, I knew this was what I wanted to do in life,” he said. “Playing chess was so fun. I was drawn not only to chess’ competitive edge, but also to its intellectual depth – the calculation, strategy and disciplined thinking it demanded.”

Around a decade after he picked up chess, Mr Siddharth made history when he became Singapore’s youngest chess grandmaster in 2024 at age 17. He and his family had become Singapore citizens the previous year.

Grandmaster is the highest title awarded by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and the pinnacle of competitive chess. To become a grandmaster, a player must achieve a FIDE rating of at least 2,500 points and secure three high-performance tournament results.

Mr Siddharth, now 18, is Singapore’s fifth grandmaster, alongside Wong Meng Kong, Kevin Goh Wei Ming, Tin Jingyao and Wu Shaobin. He is ranked No. 2 here, after Mr Tin, and No. 623 in the world.

In 2025, he won the Under-18 World Chess Championship and helped Team Singapore clinch bronze medals in the Men’s Asean Chess Rapid Team and Men’s Rapid Double Chess events at the SEA Games in Thailand.

Uzbek grandmaster and Singapore’s national team coach Andrey Kvon said Mr Siddharth is “one of the most promising young players in the world”.

“I hope his victory at the Under-18 World Chess Championship will serve as a major catalyst in his chess journey. Every step forward at the highest level demands increasing time, effort and financial investment. He has been training and working tirelessly for many years to reach this stage,” he added.

In January, mind sports such as chess and bridge, along with e-sports, were formally recognised as sports after a Bill was passed in Parliament.

A board of hard lessons

Mr Siddharth began frequenting the Singapore Chess Federation as a child, playing friendly matches that soon turned competitive.

By seven, he was competing at the National School Games, representing Qifa Primary School, which did not have a chess club.

From Primary 2 to Primary 4, he won multiple national titles at the age-group level for three consecutive years, before playing at the senior level against adults at age 11.

His exposure to the global chess circuit began at age nine, when he travelled to Mongolia for his first international tournament.

But the pressure of competition weighed heavily on him as a young player. He would break down after losses around that period.

“My parents never pushed me, but I pushed myself. When I was younger, I couldn’t sleep after losing a game. I would replay the game in my head and find where I made a mistake. Losing was very painful because chess is based on skill and not luck,” Mr Siddharth said.

His growing list of achievements and relentless self-discipline convinced his parents that his ambitions were within reach.

A risk worth taking

To better support his development, his parents transferred him from Qifa Primary in Primary 4 to the International Community School. Going to an international school gave him more flexibility and time for chess.

Between 2018 and 2019, he won multiple age-group competitions and travelled frequently for overseas tournaments. He came close several times to securing the international master title – the final step before grandmaster – but fell short.

Managing school, even an international school, alongside international competitions proved difficult.

“We noticed that it was a challenging task to manage a full-time school schedule, travel and play and submit schoolwork on time.

“Around this time, Covid-19 hit and everything came to a standstill. He was practising at home every day but did not get a chance to play at events due to restrictions,” said Mr Jagadeesh, recalling how his son would use computer programs and artificial intelligence to simulate chess games for practice.

In 2023, the family made a pivotal decision. Mr Siddharth, then 16, enrolled in NorthStar Academy, an accredited online school offering an American high school diploma.

“My wife and I discussed that he already has a good foundation in schooling from the Singapore local school system, and we should take the risk of moving him out of regular school to give him flexibility to travel and play to achieve his goals in chess,” said Mr Jagadeesh, an associate professor at NTU’s Nanyang Business School.

The shift enabled Mr Siddharth to study a year’s worth of curriculum at his own pace, while intensifying his international tournament schedule and pushing for his grandmaster title. In May 2024, he earned that top title.

A setback after success

The milestone, however, was followed by a dip in form. He dropped nearly 50 Elo rating points – a measurement of a chess player’s ability – from 2,515 to 2,467.

“After becoming a grandmaster, I felt aimless, lost motivation and began relaxing too much. It took me months to pull myself back up,” he added.

The experience became another lesson in resilience for him.

“I learnt that just because I am playing well, it doesn’t mean that I can stop playing. At the same time, it is important not to get too hard on myself. I should also enjoy the game for the game and not the results,” he added.

With renewed discipline and focus, he bounced back to win the Under-18 category at the World Youth Chess Championships in Durres, Albania, in October 2025.

His mother, Ms Anitha Jagadeesh, said she was proud of her son “for rebuilding quietly when no one was watching, and returning stronger, wiser and more grounded than ever”.

A game of sacrifices

Mr Siddharth insisted he is not extraordinary, but just fortunate “to have the support of my parents”.

“There were many talented players (when I was) growing up, but their focus turned to academics by 12 or 13 years old. I am thankful to have my family to take me to a more relaxed educational environment.

“They never emphasised results or pressured me to win,” said Mr Siddharth, who has a younger sister who plays chess as a hobby.

For around a decade, his father and his mother, a director at a bank, took turns to work remotely across time zones while accompanying him on overseas competitions.

The family estimated that they have spent several hundred thousand dollars collectively on travel, accommodation and competition fees for Mr Siddharth to play chess in over 25 countries to gain exposure and experience.

He also received funding from the Singapore Chess Federation for overseas competitions.

But his parents have no regrets. “The sacrifices are 100 per cent worth it, as the dream of pursuing a larger goal in life and doing something the nation will be proud of... kept us going,” Mr Jagadeesh said.

Going professional

Mr Siddharth hopes to break into the world’s top 100 and become a professional chess player. He studies opponents’ openings, trains himself in endgames using AI tools, and sharpens his analytical skills through mathematics.

He also hopes to win Singapore’s National Chess Championship and to inspire younger players.

“Chess is all about consistency. You have to keep practising and analysing your games. It is possible to reach your dreams of becoming a grandmaster,” he said.

Mr Siddharth, who will be enlisting for national service in April and is undecided about university, said he has no regrets choosing an unconventional path.

“Chess is also an education. It teaches resilience, calculation, patience and how to handle losses. These are all life lessons too... It also taught me to look at everything with a long-term view. One game will not change your life.”