This 16-year-old boy is about to reach 2500 without a coach and sponsor | IM Md Imran скачать в хорошем качестве

This 16-year-old boy is about to reach 2500 without a coach and sponsor | IM Md Imran

IM Md Imran won the All India Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament 2025 with an amazing performance and scored 8.5 out of 9. He is working solely himself and is looking for someone who can sponsor him for his journey in chess. This is a message my Imran- After becoming an International Master in the third week of November 2024 and reaching a FIDE rating of 2430, I returned home on November 21st. I was expecting to take some rest and focus on preparing for my 11th-grade exams. But deep inside, something told me I wasn't done yet. I felt the need to test myself — to see whether I truly deserved the IM title I had just earned. I decided to play two Indian GM tournaments — the SOA GM Open in Odisha and the Athens of the East in Tamil Nadu. Even though I ended up losing 9 rating points across both events, I saw it as a decent outcome, especially since I hadn't prepared seriously. It reassured me that I was somewhere close to maintaining IM-level strength. After those events, I went back home and dedicated myself fully to academics from January to March. I completed my exams on March 14, and without wasting time I packed my bags and flew to Hungary for tournaments. At that point i was 2421, I wasn’t expecting anything grand — I just hoped to score 3/9 in a GM Round Robin because after a break of nearly 3.5 months, chess had started to feel like a new sport altogether. But to my surprise, I scored 6/9 in that tournament — something I never expected. That result sparked my confidence again, and I began my journey with full force. From that first event, I went on to play 10 more tournaments, mostly IM Round Robins to meet title conditions and gain some rating. In those 11 tournaments, I had hoped to cross 2500, but some unfortunate losses held me back. Still, I peaked at 2480, and I take pride in my best wins — including victories over GM Sethuraman SP and GM Roven Vogel at the Menorca Open 2025, and over GM Pranav Anand and FM Artin Ashraf in the Dubai Open 2025. When I came back home, I was planning to play more events in July, but my visa had expired. While preparing to apply for a new one, I saw some Indian rating tournaments where I thought I could push my rating from 2480 closer to 2490 and improve my rapid rating, which was still at 2139. I started travelling across India again, preparing documents, playing double rounds, and managing logistics entirely by myself. It was exhausting. I participated in the Hyderabad Open and managed to go 8/8, but in the final round, I made some incorrect evaluations and had to settle for a draw. Had I won that game, I would’ve crossed 2490, but I finished at 2485 in the live ratings. What makes this entire journey even more challenging is that I’ve done almost everything on my own. From flights to food, accommodation, emotional balance, and mental strength — I’ve been alone, traveling across continents at just 15 years of age. Of course, none of this would’ve been possible without the unwavering support of my parents, to whom I am forever grateful. But the truth is, we’re not financially strong. My parents have already stretched beyond their limits. Last year, I was abroad for over 4 months, and this year it's already been 3+ months — and we’re still counting. What hurts the most is that I still don’t have a sponsor, despite trying every possible avenue. Right now, I’m mostly on my own. I do get a bit of guidance from an IM who prefers to stay unnamed, but in terms of financial and organisational support, I’m still struggling. Despite everything, I continue to push forward. My dream is to become a Grandmaster this year, and I’m working harder than ever to make it happen. But to reach that milestone, I genuinely need help — financially and morally. I believe in myself, and I believe good times will come. I just hope someone out there believes in me too. Thank you for reading my story. #chess #chessbaseindia #chessgame #hyderabad #andhrapradesh #chessbaseindiahyderabad