Class IV boy Aronyak Ghosh practises with his father for the Asian Youth Chess Championship in Iran. (Arnab Mondal)

Mrinal Ghosh missed the inaugural edition of The Telegraph Schools’ Chess in 1988 because his father had just suffered a cardiac arrest. He didn’t play another tournament until two decades later, when son Aronyak stumbled upon a dusty chessboard in the loft.

Stockbroker Mrinal, 43, has since represented Bengal in chess and his son, a student of Class IV at South Point, will soon be headed for Mashhad in Iran to compete in the Asian Youth Chess Championship.

“He is leagues ahead of me. He wins eight out of 10 games we play. I am a proud father,” Mrinal said of his son.

Aronyak’s passport to Iran was his third-place finish in the 26th National Under-9 Chess Championship in Ahmedabad last October. But so low-profile is the chess-loving Ghosh family from Bhowanipore that neighbours knew only last month that the South Point boy is one of three from Bengal to represent the country and the only one in the under-10 category.

Diptayan Ghosh and Sayantan Das have been selected for the Iran championship in the Under-16 boys’ category.

While parents Mrinal and Sanchita have been busy googling Mashhad in their spare time to know more about the city their champion son will visit next month, Aronyak is devoting most of his waking hours to practice.

“We have learnt that there are some beautiful mosques there and that you get good saffron,” said mother Sanchita, an advocate.

“Yes, Ma has asked me to get some saffron for her,” quipped Aronyak, whose tournament is from June 20 to 27.

Thrice a week, Aronyak visits the Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy. On other days, he is at home practising against senior players who are happy to help him master various moves.

The Class IV student also reads up on Mikhail Tal, the former Soviet Union-born world champion whose short reign was characterised by complex tactics that often checkmated seasoned rivals.

“We don’t have to tell him to practise chess because that is something he will always do. In fact, if we see that he is neglecting his studies, our only weapon is to tell him that we will discontinue his chess training!” said father Mrinal.

Aronyak’s parents spend Rs 15,000 a month on his training. Besides going to Grandmaster Barua’s academy thrice a week, Aronyak had trained under Sarbajit Adhikari.

While others his age are fans of Viswanathan Anand and Garry Kasparov, Aronyak idolises his senior in school, Diptayan. “Where do I find Kasparov and Anand? It’s easy to ask Diptayanda for tips,” he said.