It’s one of the many things that stood out during and after the interaction with Akhila, who had to give up her a day job in an IT company to be able to travel to events with Charvi. “I gave up my job 18 months ago to travel with her full-time,” her mother said.
Inside the playing hall, Charvi, whose head just about clears the table, was all focussed. Outside, Akhila wore the all too familiar expression of an Indian parent outside an exam hall. “I don’t really understand the game,” she said. “I don’t even ask her how the results went, I can just make it from her body language and expression when she walks out.”
One moment after Saturday’s match was enough to capture the attention Charvi pays to her craft. As soon as her game finished, she walked up to her mother for a cursory greeting. Post that, she scooted off to meet her opponent (Hong Kong’s 19-year-old FM Niilo Nissinen) to talk about the match in a more relaxed environment. “It’s something she religiously does after every match if the opponent knows English,” her mother said. “It can go on for 30 minutes.”
