Bhakti Kulkarni becomes Goa’s first woman IM

PANAJI: Ani (And) I am an IM now! A short WhatsApp message from Bhakti Kulkarni to her parents summed up her excitement and achievement. The 27-year-old chess player became Goa’s first woman International Master (IM) when she defeated M Mahalaxmi in the third round of the Asian Continental Open and Women’s Championship in Xingtai, China, on Monday.
Bhakti is now the fourth IM from the state after Anurag Mhamal (now Grandmaster), Rohan Ahuja and Leon Mendonca
Bhakti is also the sixth Indian woman chess player after Tania Sachdev, Padmini Rout, Eesha Karavade, Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi, Nisha Mohota to claim the title.
IM is the second highest title in chess after grandmaster. A player must earn three norms and pass 2400 ELO ratings to become an IM.
Bhakti, who entered the tournament with 2380 ELO points, needed 20 more as she had already collected three norms — first at Highland Open Masters in the Czech Republic (2013), second at Mumbai Mayor's Cup International (2014) and her last at fifth Fischer Memorial tournament in Greece (2018).
The Margao resident had a fine start to the tournament and have won all three matches in Xingtai. The third seed started her campaign with a win over WGM Swati Ghate to win 5.8 points. Next up was WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram of China (7.6) and in her third match earned 6.4, helping her get to 2400.
“I am extremely happy to become an IM. There are people in my life without whom I wouldn’t have been here. My parents Pradeep and Priya, coach Raghunandan Gokhale believed in me. They gave me more power and confidence. Without Shrinivas Dempo and Goa Carbon's help I wouldn't have reached at this level. They stood by me from 2008 and that’s has been one of the prime reasons for my success,” Bhakti told TOI.
It took Bhakti six years to become an IM and it’s not difficult to understand why.
“I was playing for my country in many Asian and World tournaments, winning medals. So, it was difficult for me to earn ELO points. Now that I am an IM, my next target is to become a GM,” said Bhakti.
Though Goa is hosting its second Grandmaster chess tournament starting June 18, Bhakti is likely to give the tournament a miss as she has five more matches to play in the Asian tourney. She will compete at the Commonwealth Chess Championship to be held in New Delhi from June 30.