An 11-year-old chess player from Edinburgh is competing against adults for Scotland after rapidly advancing beyond his peers. Devesh Sharma, a primary school pupil at Gracemount Primary, has attracted attention as a rising talent and is considered a strong candidate for future grandmaster status.

Sharma, who recently turned 11, played board one for Scotland in the Glorney Gilbert International tournament held last week in Limerick, Ireland. The competition featured under-18 teams from Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland. Despite being significantly younger than many of his opponents, Sharma’s high rating placed him among the top players in the event. Last month, he also secured third place in the Scottish Chess Championships held in Hamilton.

His passion for chess developed during the COVID-19 pandemic through games with his father, Rajiv Sharma. Devesh describes chess as a means of connecting with people worldwide and appreciates that success in the game relies on skill rather than luck. His style of play is described as “aggressive,” though he acknowledges the challenge of facing older, more experienced competitors. “I do feel nervous before the games but once you’re in the game, you always need to think you’re playing the board, not the person,” he said. His long-term goal is to become a world chess champion.

Devesh has also taken the initiative to start a chess club at his school, signaling his commitment to growing the game locally. However, his father has raised concerns about the lack of financial support for talented players in Scotland. He pointed out that while English juniors often receive sponsorship and funding to cover travel and accommodation costs for tournaments, such resources are more limited in Scotland. “As you go up the rankings you need to really put in a huge amount of money,” Rajiv Sharma noted.

Chess Scotland acknowledged Sharma’s potential, with junior development lead Ruaridh McKay expressing optimism about his progress. “We’ve got a few really talented juniors coming through and Devesh is one of them,” McKay said.

Interest in chess has surged in recent years, a trend partly attributed to the 2020 release of the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. The show led to a significant increase in chess set sales and millions of new players joining online platforms, reflecting a broader revival of the game worldwide.