Chess Prodigy Deekshitha Modipalli Elo Rating Surge Father Crowdfunding

It’s been a week since Deekshitha Modipalli made heads turn in the world of chess, with a rating jump of 484 Elo points over the course of a month that also lifted her world rank by 29,200 spots. Her results, across just four tournaments, also earned her an International Master norm, opening new ambitions for the 14-year-old.

But in the days after that rise, reality followed. The costs of keeping it going had gone up just as fast. Her gains came over the course of one trip to Europe. To keep raising her rating and picking up the norms she needs, she’ll need several more such trips. So her father, M Sheshadri Nayudu, decided to try crowdfunding to help fund her path toward becoming an International Master, and perhaps, eventually, a grandmaster.

Sheshadri, an IT professional from Hampapuram village in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, started the campaign on Ketto four days ago. With donations from 14 supporters so far, the family has raised Rs 51,000 toward a target of Rs 15 lakh, set over 45 days.

On the campaign page, Sheshadri broke the target down: Rs 4 lakh for coaching and training fees, Rs 3 lakh for accommodation, Rs 2 lakh for airfare, Rs 2 lakh for tournament preparation, Rs 2 lakh for food and other travel expenses, Rs 1 lakh for tournament entry fees, Rs 50,000 for local transport, and Rs 30,000 for visas.

The plan, Sheshadri said, is to use the funds raised to sponsor a couple of tournament trips to Europe. Deekshitha is already headed to Turkey soon, for two back-to-back tournaments. Beyond that, if she is to reach the level her family and coach, Krishna Teja, believe she’s capable of, considerably more will be needed.

Crowdfunding remains a route rarely taken in Indian chess. Ethan Vaz, who went on to become India’s 96th grandmaster, international master Muhammad Imran, and Woman Candidate Master Shivamshika G, have all attempted it before. Sheshadri remains hopeful.

“Over the past week, despite all the headlines, no one has contacted me from the government or from private sponsors. In the past, I had seen a few players try out fundraising through various platforms. So I decided this could be an option,” Sheshadri told The Indian Express.

It’s a hard truth of Indian chess that sponsors tend to gravitate toward established super-GMs, who often already receive “conditions” from tournament organisers, waived entry fees, boarding and lodging covered, sometimes flights too, and appearance fees in certain cases. It’s the players still chasing rating and norms through open tournaments in Europe who have to fund all of it themselves.

Any player looking to move up from the 2200-rating range needs coaching from top-tier coaches, where costs are often billed hourly rather than as a flat fee. Sheshadri said that until a certain level, he had paid an annual coaching fee. As his daughter’s rating rose, that shifted to an hourly rate.

Deekshitha’s coach, international master Krishna Teja, said Sheshadri’s Rs 15 lakh target is the bare minimum, with little room to spare. “The ideal budget for any prodigy chasing norms and rating gains is around Rs 25 to 30 lakh annually. That would be the scenario where the player has everything they need: a parent travelling with them to handle logistics during tournaments, one-on-one coaching, and so on. But the bare minimum for a year’s expenses is Rs 15-17 lakh. That’s if she travels alone, without a parent, and trains in a group with higher-rated players. That budget would include three to four trips to Europe for tournaments, which alone would run to around Rs 10-12 lakh. Since her level has risen, coaching fees will also be around Rs 3.5 to 4 lakh, because she now needs one-on-one sessions too,” Krishna Teja told The Indian Express.

“Until now, her coaching has been with a group at the academy rated around 2000 to 2100. But she needs coaching with a stronger group, and personal classes as well. At the moment, the coaching fee is about Rs 3.5 to 4 lakh for a year,” he added.

Krishna Teja said that if Deekshitha manages to raise the full Rs 15 lakh within a year, there is a real possibility she could become an International Master within that time.

Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. He primarily writes on chess and Olympic sports, and co-hosts the Game Time podcast, a weekly offering from Express Sports. He also writes a weekly chess column, On The Moves. ... Read More