Gold again! World Chess champion D Gukesh, World Junior champion Pranav V and now this — Velammal keeps minting talents

Time of India

2 days ago

NEW DELHI: "Go Velammal, Velammal!" — The roar from the seven members representing Velammal MHS School, with the tri-colour held high, painted a larger picture that India's glory days in the game of 64 squares aren't fading any time soon.
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Players and coaches donning gold medals and holding the coveted 2025 World Schools Team Championship title were a sheer demonstration of the continued dominance India has enjoyed in recent years.
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And so dominant was Velammal in Virginia that they won all eight matches and had the title sealed even before the final round.
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With WFM Keerti Shree Reddy (rating 1910), IM Aswath S (2369), FM Daakshin Arun (2021), IM Ilamparthi A (2358) and FM Pranav KP (2090) all playing key roles, the Chennai-based school secured gold at the 2025 World Schools Team Championship.
However, it is not the first time Velammal has been in the spotlight. Some of India's top chess players, including Grandmasters (GMs) D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Pranav V, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Leon Luke Mendonca, have walked its corridors.
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Velammal began its chess journey in the early 2000s, when the institution started spotting and nurturing talent at the grassroots.
Velammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School (MHS) and Velammal Vidyalaya, both under the Velammal Educational Trust (Velammal Nexus), created a structured pathway for young players, pairing academic flexibility with professional coaching.
"We all know Chennai is called the Chess Capital of India. It has the maximum number of Grandmasters. After the Olympiad happened in Chennai in 2022, a lot of people got interested in chess, and I think there will be many more GMs from Chennai in the coming years," GM Pranav Venkatesh, the reigning FIDE World Junior Champion and a Velammal Vidyalaya student, told TimesofIndia.com.
"The school helps a lot in studies also, not only in chess.
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They give leaves for tournaments, they have made a massive contribution in my chess career so far."
Velammal has produced athletes in athletics, volleyball, football and badminton, but chess has become its signature, currently riding the wave of the nation's unmistakable chess boom.
The sport's deep roots in Chennai, combined with the city's active tournament scene and role models like Viswanathan Anand, made it an ideal focus.
GM Shyam Sundar Mohanraj, who coaches many Velammal students in his Chennai-based academy, explained: "So, in Tamil Nadu… some of the schools do support chess, sometimes financially, but more importantly by giving holidays, more leave to the kids. And I think that's the important thing: attendance. For example, in Chennai, one of those schools is Velammal. There, they don't mind giving more holidays to the players.
"And they also support if someone achieves a good performance, then they also provide some kind of financial support. For example, you must be aware that when Gukesh won the Candidates, he was gifted a car. I don't know the exact brand, maybe Mercedes or something, but the car was worth 80 lakhs or 1 crore."
Gukesh was indeed gifted a Mercedes-Benz car worth approximately Rs 90,00,000 ($103,450 USD) by his school.
The gift came after Gukesh bagged two gold medals at the 2024 Chess Olympiad and became the youngest-ever winner of the Candidates Tournament to set up his World Championship match against China's Ding Liren.
It was a move that again highlights the school's tradition of celebrating its stars even if they are one step away from that "ultimate" goal, which was the World Chess Championship in Gukesh's case.
After Gukesh became the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, the same school awarded him with a Rs 1 crore cash prize.
For Velammal, the 2025 World Schools Team Championship is another chapter in a growing legacy.
Whether it's Gukesh ruling the world stage, Pranav dominating at the junior level, or some chess prodigies delivering at team events, Velammal continues to justify its "The Chess Factory of India" tag.
In all, as the gold medals glistened in Virginia, the chants of "Go Velammal!" were more than just cheers; they were a promise that India's chess future is in safe hands.