Tanuj's Chess Chronicles

    I had the pleasure of meeting Tanuj Vasudeva and his family recently. Tanuj is an 8 year old chess prodigy. At the time of these photographs, he was ranked #1 in the US and #2 in the world for his age class.

     He's an incredibly sweet kid, who is respectful and well-mannered. Which makes sense when you look at his immediate family, who were very welcoming and gracious.

      Prior to meeting the Vasudeva family, I had my preconceptions of the personality and lifestyle of a prodigy. A child that has been pushed by his parents to succeed, narrow minded and even stressed by the pressure of competing at high levels. However, it was quite the opposite.

      Tanuj spends hours studying chess on his own accord. His parents push him very little to do well in chess. His father, Tarun Vasudeva, told me that he has always loved strategy games. His parents want him to do well in school and have a career, rather than only focusing on only succeeding in chess.

       The results are clear with Tanuj, who is a cheerful and inquisitive, just as any 8 year old child should be. Here is a blog Tanuj's father writes for him, about his adventures in chess.

http://tanujchess.blogspot.com/