Sreekarthika Velmurugan crowned Singapore’s new chess queen
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Sreekarthika Velmurugan, 13, is crowned women's national chess champion at the Asian Civilisations Museum on Feb 14.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
- Sreekarthika Velmurugan, 13, won the Singapore National Women's Chess Championship, dethroning 10-time consecutive champion Gong Qianyun, and placed third in the Open category.
- She aims to become a woman grandmaster by 14 and grandmaster by 18, enhancing future national chess development.
- Grandmaster Tin Jingyao won his third consecutive national title in the Open category, aiming to regain his 2,600 Elo rating and potentially pursue chess professionally.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Sreekarthika Velmurugan’s love for chess began with a game of snakes and ladders.
While playing the board game with her father nearly a decade ago, she got bored and after flipping it over, discovered a chess board on the other side.
Her father Velmurugan Gurusamy Pandian took the opportunity to teach his young daughter the game.
His efforts paid off on Feb 14, when 13-year-old Sreekarthika won her first major title at the Singapore National Chess Championships, where she was crowned the women’s chess champion.
Woman grandmaster Gong Qianyun’s 10-year reign as Singapore national women’s chess champion ended on Feb 14.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
In the process, she dethroned woman grandmaster and 2019 SEA Games gold medallist (women rapid) Gong Qianyun, 40, who won the title 10 times in a row and 11 in all.
The teenager said: “I think I played well and was quite strong overall, this is my best result as I was fourth (in the women’s category) last year.
“I’m really happy to beat Qianyun (in round 7) because I know she’s really strong, and I’ve played her a lot of times and I lost every time.”
Woman Fide master Sreekarthika, topped the 12-strong field with seven points in nine rounds, posting six wins, two draws and a loss.
The Singapore permanent resident, who moved here from Tamil Nadu, India, when she was one, took home $2,000 for winning the women’s category and $3,000 for finishing third overall in the Open category.
Her third-placed finish is also the highest for a woman player in the Open category since the competition combined the gender events in 2021.
Fang Kun (right) conceding the game to Sreekarthika Velmurugan during the final round of the Singapore National Chess Championship on Feb 14.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
Sreekarthika entered the final round at the Asian Civilisations Museum on Feb 14 needing just a draw to be crowned women’s champion, but faced a motivated Fang Kun.
Woman candidate master Fang, 21, needed a win to take it to tiebreaks as she was one point behind Sreekarthika, and held an advantage throughout their four-hour match.
But, as the game progressed, time pressure struck and Fang made a decisive blunder on move 58 for Sreekarthika to claim the victory four moves later.
“I knew I had to either win or draw to get champion,” said Sreekarthika.
“I went into a losing position, and I had to defend, but then in the end, she pushed too hard and ended up losing. I was super happy and I couldn’t really find words to express it.”
Singapore Chess Federation chief executive Kevin Goh told The Sunday Times that he was initially uncertain about Sreekarthika’s abilities, but has since changed his mind after seeing her performance at the championships.
He said: “She will be turning 14 this year and, to be able to secure a national championship in this particular field is an impressive achievement, and bodes well for the future of our national development programmes.”
Noting that the combined field is stronger now, he added: “Her consistency, hard work and family support have contributed to this particular success and this win is a testament to the efforts of everybody who’s involved.”
Sreekarthika is among the emerging talents in Singapore chess. They include Siddharth Jagadeesh, 18, who obtained the grandmaster title in 2024, and youngsters such as international master Jayden Wong, 19, and Fide master Goh Zi Han, 16.
The woman grandmaster is the highest-ranking chess title solely for female players – players are required to obtain a Fide Elo rating, a measure of a player’s ability, of 2,300 and three norms of 2,400 performance rating to obtain the title.
The grandmaster is the highest-ranking title that a player can obtain, and requires an Elo rating of 2,500 or more, along with the three required norms.
Besides woman grandmaster, there are other lower-rated chess titles, starting with woman candidate master (2,000 Elo), woman Fide master (2,100) and woman international master (2,200).
In the open category, the titles are candidate master (2,200), Fide master (2,300), international master (2,400) and grandmaster (2,500).
Looking ahead, the GIG International School grade 7 student aims to attain her woman grandmaster title by the end of 2026 and hopes to become a grandmaster by the time she turns 18.
In the Open category on Feb 14, grandmaster Tin Jingyao claimed his third consecutive national title, and eighth overall, to pocket the $5,000 top prize.
Tin, a final year computing student at the National University of Singapore, said: “This year, some of my main competition didn’t participate (Siddharth has a broken foot), so maybe it was a bit more relaxed this year.
“But still, there were some challenging games, especially in the last round, I was in some trouble and I didn’t even realise it.”
The 25-year-old aims to climb back to the 2,600 Elo rating – a mark which he crossed once in May 2025.
He added: “After this tournament, I’m just about 10 or 11 points away and with one or two more good tournaments, I would cross the mark again.
“Moving forward, I will probably have less time (after graduation), but I am strongly considering at this point to take more time off, or even pursue chess full time.”
