India, March 14 -- When Mayank Chakraborty was six, his mother, Dr Monomita, a gynaecologist, had to take him along to Tolaram Bafna hospital in Guwahati where she worked since there was no one at home to watch him. It was the day chess was chosen for him.

While Monomita was away for patient consultations, her colleague, an ENT specialist, looked after him in the doctor's room. When she returned, the fellow doctor had a ready suggestion: "Your boy has a sharp mind and a restless body. Get him to play chess."

Though not entirely convinced, Monomita signed him up for classes at an NGO that ran a chess club. The first tournament he played as a six-year-old didn't go well. Not too long after, Mayank declared that he was done with chess and ...