Sweeping the board

When she was in second grade, Sarvagna Velidandla’s parents knew she would be a great chess player.

“She [had] just started chess and in six months, she became a super national champion, just in six months,” her mother, Uma Mudunuru, said. “So then we thought, ‘OK, she has some gift given by God.’”

In 2013, Sarvagna won first place in the K-3 unrated section of the super national chess tournament, and she has garnered more than 20 trophies since she began playing in 2012. This past summer, she represented the state of Alabama in the National Girls Tournament of Champions, where she finished 17th out of 44 players, and she also played in the 15th annual Susan Polgar Foundation Girls’ Invitational Chess Tournament in St. Louis. 

In April, Sarvagna won first place in the All-Girls Alabama State tournament, qualifying her for the national tournament.

She said she made friends at the tournament, fellow chess players she stays in touch with. Her mother said Sarvagna benefited from the experience.

“It’s very challenging,” Mudunuru said. “... She learned a lot and she beat a couple of champions [from other states].”

In preparing for the tournaments, Sarvagna played online, learned tactics and, once she knew who she was playing, was able to see their games and how they play.

After her games were over at the tournaments, Sarvagna and the other players went over their games, helping each other learn more and improve for future games.

“I guess I am proud [of representing state],” she said. “There was a lot of practice behind that, but I was a bit scared actually to go up there, a little nervous, but other than that it was actually pretty fun.”

Sarvagna uses a software engine that helps her practice and improve her skills, showing her where she can improve and what she needs to do to win. 

Her love for chess began when she saw two friends playing the game and became interested in it. She joined a chess club and got a coach, even receiving online coaching from Europe.

“I like the intense thinking,” Sarvagna said. “Some games, they last six hours. Sometimes, in certain positions, you think six moves ahead, seven moves ahead.”

She has to travel a lot for tournaments, as Alabama does not have many tournaments. The family has traveled to about 10 states for tournaments.

“Last year was very hectic for her,” Seshasaibabu Velidandla, her dad, said.

Watching their daughter compete in and win various tournaments and exceed in chess makes Sarvagna’s parents proud of her, her mother said.

“She works hard on it,” Mudunuru said. “... She’s also teaching it to her friends and in the school. She makes friends and gets to know other people.”

In addition to teaching her friends, Velidandla has also taught her parents to play chess.

“It’s very difficult to beat her, but it’s still great,” her father said.

Sarvagna served as secretary in 2014 for the Alabama Chess Initiative Program, which successfully swayed educators in the state to offer chess in schools. She continued to attend meetings in 2015 and 2016.

“In chess, [you] use both sides of your brain so you can do better in school,” Sarvagna said. “It helps your creativity, your time management.”

She is now working to create an all-girls chess club in the area so others can learn the game she’s come to love. Her future plans are to become a chess master and, at some point, become a grandmaster, the highest title awarded to chess players outside of world champion.