New Delhi: Delhi teenager Vantika Agrawal was conferred the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement in Chess on the occasion of the Children’s Day last month. The 14-year-old chess prodigy, received the award from President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan along with 30 other children who were recognised for their exceptional abilities in academics, culture, arts, sport and music.
In the past, Vantika has won various accolades at the national and the international levels. She claimed a bronze medal at the world youth chess championship at Halkidiki, Greece, last year. She also secured a silver in the 2015 Commonwealth Under-14 chess championship.
Her winning spree continued this year, beginning with a bronze medal at the Asian Youth blitz in Mongolia and later she settled for a second-place finish at the world youth chess championship U-14 girls, at Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. Vantika’s first major achievement was winning the gold at the Asian schools chess championship in the U-9 girls category in 2011. An aspiring Grandmaster, Vantika’s ELO rating stands at 2051.
