A 7-year-old girl Diah Patel, with Barodian roots, has become Gloucestershire State Chess Champion for her age category in the United Kingdom. Diah was awarded ‘Suprema’ award for scoring the highest points in State Championship Megafinals.
Diah has inherited interest in Mathematics and analytical thinking from her Barodian born and breaded mother, Dipal Patel, who is an Actuary by profession. Diah has close connection with Baroda and spends much time with her maternal Grandparents residing in Baroda.
Diah’s first introduction to Chess was at the age of 3, when she visited Café Bistro in Baroda, which has a huge outdoor garden Chess. Diah was fascinated by the Chess pieces and the way they walk with different patterns. Her keen interest led her to learn playing chess at a very enough young age and soon she was included in her School’s Chess club.
In February 2019, Diah entered Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Championship tournament, which is World’s largest Chess competition. Around 40,000 children from 4 countries compete in the first round. Diah won State championship by winning Megafinals with flying colures and bagged SUPREMA award for scoring highest points in U7 category. She is now qualified to play Gigafinals, which is a national level Chess competition.
Alongside Chess, Diah is also learning tennis, Bharatnatyam and cricket. Diah’s favorite cricket player is MS Dhoni. Diah also shows some interest in politics and loves listening to PM Modi. Diah says she wants to become a ‘Dancing Doctor’ – that is a doctor who also dances! She aspires to win a Chess Grand Master one day.
