Meet Goutham, the Kerala boy with a killer move

Simitha V S was a curious parent in the fan zone of the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships at Qatar University in Doha. She was eager to learn how young players balance their chess careers and studies, secure sponsorship deals, pick the right tournaments to play in, and so on.

Inside the playing hall, her 15-year-old son, Goutham Krishna H, stayed in the moment. His plans were limited to the unlimited possibilities that emerged on a square board in front of him. Even the forthcoming Class 10 model exams only struck him as an afterthought.

Goutham was one of the surprise packages at the World Championships, producing some notable upsets, like beating Carlsen's bitter rival Hans Niemann, turning the tables on former World Blitz Champion Leinier Dominguez Perez and holding Candidates qualifier GM Anish Giri to a 96-move draw.

He beat or drew eight opponents in the Rapid section and secured positive scores against 11 others in Blitz. All his opponents were Grandmasters (GMs) and rated higher than him. On a good day, he was even level on points with World No 1 Magnus Carlsen. In the week leading up to the New Year, Goutham, an International Master (IM) —which is a level below the title of GM — established himself as a serious chess player.

"Not many knew about Goutham Krishna before the World Championship, but now the world knows and that gives me a lot of happiness," said Simitha, back home in Thiruvananthapuram, helping her son prepare for the examinations starting Monday.

Tale of two halves
The story of Goutham's maiden world championship comprised two contrasting halves. In the first half, practically the first days of both Rapid and Blitz events, the teenager was in sublime form. In the second half, he faded, like a marathon debutant, running out of steam after giving it his all in the early stages.

In the Rapid event, Goutham lost just once in the first seven rounds, but won just one game in the next six rounds. In Blitz too, he began strongly by securing eight wins on the opening day, but could only manage a draw in the whole of day two.

Goutham was not sure why he could not maintain his level throughout the event. "I was not scared of anyone. I think it was time pressure," Goutham said. Rapid games feature a time control of 15 minutes per player with a 10-second increment added every move. Blitz is faster, with each player getting three minutes on the clock and an increment of two seconds per move. The games get tense once the clock trickles down to a few seconds, often won or lost after a blunder.

Goutham thought he was adequately prepared because, like most professionals, he practices speed chess online. He has even played Carlsen once and beat World No 2 Hikaru Nakamura in an odd online bullet game (1-minute). But the demands of playing at the world stage were much higher than he had anticipated. "After the first day, I wanted to play the same way. I tried to play as best as possible but the results did not come my way. I think I did not revise enough before the world championship. I tried a few tricky openings, but it turned out that the experienced GMs were well-versed in those lines."

Goutham's coach, GM Srinath Narayanan, had a more practical view of the situation. "On the first day, he was able to show what he was capable of. On the second day, he understood what other people were capable of," said Srinath. The native of Chennai, one of the most sought-after young trainers in the country, has been guiding Goutham on his chess journey since he became an IM two years ago.

The prodigy
Goutham's first chess hero was his elder brother Dev Shankar, who later switched to engineering and moved to Canada. Goutham's father, Hari Purushothaman, works in the Public Works Department, and his mother, Simitha, is an HR professional. The family had relocated from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram when Goutham was a baby.

Goutham won the state under-8 and under-9 championships before receiving proper chess lessons from Sreejith G S of Masters Chess Academy. Sreejith discovered the talent in Goutham at the young age of eight and continues to be a mentor. In late 2019, when the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, chess, like every other activity, shifted to remote play. "It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Goutham spent hours in front of a laptop, playing and training online. The COVID period helped him get better in the game," Simitha said.

Post-COVID, Goutham took off, winning the Western Asian Youth classical and rapid Under-12 titles and securing a silver medal for India in the Under-12 Commonwealth Chess Championship in Sri Lanka. He also emerged as the state U-19 champion at 12 and lifted the National U-12 Open Championship.

In early 2025, he was placed second in a strong International Chess Tournament in Kuwait. Goutham secured his first GM norm with a solid display at the Abu Dhabi Masters in 2024. Three norms are required to become a GM. Last year, he won the National Sub-Junior Open title and was placed second in the Senior National event, which helped him secure a wildcard entry to the World Championships.

The next move
The biggest hurdle Goutham's parents encountered as the boy got better was raising funds for his chess education. "It is tough to get sponsorships," Simitha. "Last year, we made a request to the state sports ministry for ₹25 lakh, but got just ₹1 lakh.

"Now we save up from our salaries to buy tickets. And because it takes some time, we often take breaks in between tournaments and that is affecting his progress."

Playing abroad regularly is essential for improvement, as evidenced by how often the likes of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, and other top Indian players play abroad. Goutham's parents realised this when the boy hit a roadblock in his race to become an IM. He had five IM norms in his kitty, two more than the requisite, but could not breach the 2400 Elo points without overseas exposure. A couple of tournaments in France and Spain helped him bridge that barrier and secure the IM title.

Simitha and Hari are constantly worried about finding the means to help Goutham advance in his career. But the boy has no such concerns, for now. "He is getting stronger in all aspects in general and can play more types of positions," said coach Srinath.

"His biggest challenge would be to bounce back from difficult turn of events because as you go higher, the percentage of results that don't go your way would be higher. So maintaining a level despite setbacks is very important. But I see that he is very passionate about chess and that itself will carry him through."