How 9-year-old Sarbartho Mani became Team Freedom's youngest star

A dream come true!

Watching Viswanathan Anand play has been a defining memory for Indian chess lovers. Most dream about facing him across the board. Very few achieve that. And even very few get the rare chance to play with him on the same team! Among those very few players is Sarbartho Mani, a 9-year-old talent from West Bengal. He was selected to be a part of Team Freedom at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025. His team went on to win a bronze medal in the rapid section, and Sarbartho scored a phenomenal 11/12 in the blitz. After the event, Sarbartho talked about his experience of being part of such a powerful team, his preparations with the Team Captain, Emil Sutovsky. Sarbartho's parents, Dr. Sidhhartha Mani and Dr. Swarnali Mani, also spoke with Sagar Shah and shared what it meant to see their son living his dream at just ten years old!

Interview with Sarbartho Mani:

Sagar Shah (SS): Sarbartho, you played very interesting chess in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025. This was a completely different stage for you. Your team won a bronze medal in rapid and got sixth place in blitz. How are you feeling?

Sarbartho Mani (SM): I am feeling very well that our team has won bronze medal in rapid. Maybe we could have done better in Blitz, but we tried our best!

SS: I want to ask you whether you were feeling stressed out playing with so many great players like Vishy Anand was in the team. You also had Samuel Sevian, Martirosyan, Anna Muzychuk. How did you feel? Were you tensed when you were playing on board number six?

SM: No. It's a dream for me to play with them. I was not at all tensed. I was very happy to play with them.

SS: So when you got to know that you are one of the contenders for this spot, when Emil Sutovsky messaged your father. What was your first reaction?

SM: I was very excited and I wanted to talk with him.

SS: And then what happened then? Did he sort of ask you to play some games? How was it?

SM: He asked me to play some games against his friend, Alexander Shapiro. He is also a very good player. He is 2000+ rated. He just wanted to see how I am playing. If there is a mistake, he would always tell me where I should improve.

SS: So you started working on this tournament for almost a month. You had some tournaments also in between. But there was a lot of communication with Emil. Is it true?

SM: Yeah.

SS: How was he helping you? 

SM: I played many rapid and blitz games on Lichess and Chess.com. When I made a mistake, or I should have done better, he told me that 3 to 4 days later.

SS: And then you would improve, you would learn. Do you think this entire journey of this preparation and these 5 days have made you a better player? You think you become stronger?

SM: Yeah.

SS: Overall, how was the team bonding? I could see you were becoming very comfortable with everyone. Was it like you were all together?

SM: Yeah. We are all together. We are in the same hotel. So I was very comfortable with them. On the first day, when I met them, I was very comfortable. I shook hands with them. I was very happy.

SS: Also, your father told me that when you were growing up, Vishy Anand was your idol. And now you are in his team. So, how did playing with him feel?

SM: I feel very good. I always wanted to play with Vishy sir in any Team Tournament. And now that dream came true!

SS: What was your score in rapid in this tournament?

SM: 7.5 or 8. I think so.

SS: Then in rapid, you lost a few games, but in blitz, you are unbeaten in the group stage. You had scored 11 out of 12 with 2 draws and 10 wins. What changed? Or is it like you are very good at blitz?

SM: I am very good at blitz now.

SS: How did you get so strong at blitz? Because you generally play classical tournaments, right?

SM: But the first time when I played blitz, I didn't do so well. After that tournament, I started to play very good blitz. I was very strong in it.

SS: So you think that you can become one of the best blitz players like Hikaru or Firouzja

SM: Yeah. (Smiles)

SS: Who is your favorite player?

SM: Anand sir!

SS: Did you play with him here? Were there any practice games?

SM: No, I didn't play with him here. I played with other teammates, but I didn't play with him.

SS: Were you also preparing here during the tournament?

SM: Yes. I was preparing with Emil Sutovsky sir in my room on openings and general things.

SS: You really love chess no?.

SM: Yeah. I love it.

SS: All the time you can practice chess.

SM: Yes. In my home, I practice a lot of chess.

SS: If someone tells you that let's come and practice. Do you feel like “No. Now the tournament is done. Let me take some rest. Or you want to learn more?

SM: I want to learn. And I also have next tournament in Batumi in Georgia, FIDE World Cup.

SS: Oh! You will play in U-12?

SM: No U-10.

SS: I think this tournament will really help you then.

SM: Yeah.

Sarbartho showed his game against Islam Aiten (KZ) where he had the white pieces and opened with 1.d4. The line was taught to him by his team captain, Emil Sutovsky. “Now I am very good at this line” is what Sarbartho said with confidence!

SS: Can I play d5, instead of c5 in this position? Does that make sense? I am wasting one tempo but I am saying like Re1 is not so good.

SM: I didn't prepare this line, but I don't think d5 is good.

SS: What is happening here? It looks like an equal end game. Is it equal?

SM: No. It's slightly better for White. Because you have many active play and you get the diagonal opend.

SS: Black also has that diagonal.

SM: Yes. But the c5 pawn is a little weak because if I play Bf3 and he plays b6, the diagonal will be opened.

SS: Yes! And White can play c3 to limit that bishop. So if the pawn was on c7, it would be equal. But because the pawn is on c5, White is better.

SM: Yeah.

SS: You are actually also very good at tactics. I saw that. How did you become good at tactics? Did you solve a lot?

SM: Yes. I solve a lot of puzzles on Lichess. I am very good at tactics.

SS: Do you do any books or only online?

SM: Online mainly. But I also have some books.

SS: Which one?

SM: “New in Chess”. You gave me that book.

SS: Oh yes. Did you solve it?

SM: Yeah. I solved some puzzles from there.

SS: Your parents were also here. I think it's your first tournament outside India which is not an age group tournament or you have played?

SM: Yeah. This is my first time.

SS: Great play by you! Good luck with the future events! Any final words you want to talk about this amazing event?

SM: It was a very good organization. I will be very happy to play next time.

SS: Do you want to play in any team or you want to play in Emil Sir’s team?

SM: Emil Sir’s team.

Sarbartho's joy and passion for chess were evident in his answers but how did such a young talent land a spot in a team full of legendary players? To understand that, Sagar Shah spoke to Emil Sutovsky, the captain of Team Freedom. He is the person who spotted Sarbartho's potential early on. What made Sarbartho stand out from others, why was he selected for the team and how did Emil help him prepare for the event, Emil shared his thoughts on it all. Here is what he shared:

"Sarbartho was a star of the team. Because there was so much attention on him. We started interacting back in April. Sagar, you suggested that I should look into him to consider for the team. It didn't take me long to like Sarbartho. I liked one of his games where he won the game with a bishop ending. But his games were not the reason why I selected him. The main thing that distinguished Mani was his shining eyes. When you look at him, you immediately see that these eyes indicate passion, talent, smartness, and something special about him. Then I saw his games. I noted immediately his talent to tackle endings."

-Emil Sutovsky, Captain of Team Freedom.

"He is mature to a level of grandmaster player. He has a good geometrical vision for short calculations. He is still very poor at building up the game. He still relies on some sort of background, which probably was okay when he was a 1500-rated player. It's not the right way to grow and I already indicated it and I think he will work on that. But his passion for chess is enormous because after the games and between the games, he was ready and willing to analyze, to play, to talk about chess, to ask questions."

-Emil Sutovsky, Captain of Team Freedom.

Parenting and Chess

Sagar Shah: You are in London, and Sarbartho is playing at the World Rapid Team Championship. How does it feel to be here?

Sidhhartha Mani: I mean what to say? It's beyond our expectation because he is playing in the same team as Vishy Anand Sir. So that was a big thing. I will tell you honestly one thing. When I was a kid at his age, my friends had superheroes like Superman, Spider-Man, but for me, my superhero was Viswanathan Anand. I was so passionate about chess. After 30 years, my son is playing with him. It's like a dream for us.

Swarnali Mani: We are totally thankful to Almighty and obviously to Emil sir for giving us such a blessing and opportunity. We are feeling blessed to be a part of this team. We feel like extended family to the Team Freedom. We are rooting for everyone. We are so happy, excited, a great experience!

Sagar: So when you got to know that Sarbartho is being considered for this tournament, what was the feeling like? 

Sidhhartha: We got to know about it almost at the end of April. I was in the operation theater and WhatsApp message came to me that “Hello I am GM Emil Sutovksy. I want your son to play some games with one of my friends in this link.” He sent some Lichess link or something. I thought whether it is real or not. Because someone to his stature suddenly texting me and I did not know the purpose also. So I thought is it real or internet misuse. We thought to respond and then I understood that he is thinking of Sarbartho in his team. That also we understood one day later. First Sarbartho played few blitz games with one of his friends. Next day, he took a video interview with Sarbartho and he analyzed those games blindly and asked few more questions. Then he said that you will be selected for this team.

Swarnali: What more we can expect!

Sagar: When you were preparing for this event, how was it? Because you got to know in Apri,l now we are in June, just a couple of months. It must have been very exciting phase but also there is a responsibility. He was going to play on one board and he has no replacement. He has to play all the games.

Sidhhartha: Yes. And actually the tough thing was he had two to three classical tournaments already scheduled in between. So he could not cancel that. So in between, he kept on practicing rapid and blitz games. Emil sir was such a great mentor! Every day he used to text me. He used to follow all his Lichess and chess.com games.
Swarnali: He was continuously in touch with Sarbartho. He continuously gave feedback. It helped a lot. He improved in this one month. Before that, he used to play classical more.

Sidhhartha: And all his mistakes were mentioned by sir. He would say, “In this game, on that move, you made a mistake.” I never imagined someone of his stature could be such a dedicated mentor.

Sagar: Actually even in the tournament, we see all the time that after the game, he is with Sarbartho.

Swarnali: We feel like he is in the family, Team Freedom. Him taking care of Sarbartho in such a way…

Sidhhartha: I mean crossing the roads, whether he is eating, drinking and everything. The entire team, not only sir, but Anand sir, Anna Muzychuk, everybody is so homely.

Swarnali: Most of the places he is accompanied by us but now he is going for the team dinner alone, by his own, they take pictures.

Sidhhartha: He comes back to his room after 9:30-10 PM. We wait in the room.

Swarnali: He is growing up very fast.

Sagar: So beautiful. Also, there was this beautiful moment in the tournament where Sarbartho went to Vishy Anand and touched this feet. You must have seen the video of it.

Swarnali: Yes. It was overwhelming! Tears came out in our eyes. It happened, and he took blessings from Sir. He is like God of Chess to us.

Sidhhartha: Absolutely. And the interesting thing is that just one hour back, I met Injac Teodora in the corridor and she said one important thing that Sarbartho is good and all those things. But she said that Sarbartho doesn't understand who is besides him. He is so young. I mean Anand is besides him. To understand the importance of Anand Sir guiding him or mentoring him… he is too young to understand that. This is the family he is sharing with. Really grateful!

Swarnali: With his blessings and everyone's support, hope Sarbartho will progress.

Sagar: Also, what has been the relevance of this event now? Because Sarbartho has won many tournaments. He has been the Commonwealth Champion. He has won Asian Championship. He has won several gold medals. This journey of chess is quite long. How do you look at this tournament in his journey of improvement? 

Sidhhartha: It is definitely a milestone. Not exactly from his rating or career point of view, but the exposure he has got here. Basically four Super Grandmasters all around him. To handle that pressure, to sit besides them and then keep on playing. I think apart from the quality of games or those analysis, it is a completely different learning for him. I think it should enrich him in his future journey. I hope so.

Sagar: You both are doctors. So when you come and travel here, how do you manage it?

Sidhhartha: It's really difficult.

Swarnali: We try to manage alternately.

Sidhhartha: Medical science is something where patients cannot wait when he or she is ill. When we are traveling to other states in India, either she or I try to trave. Sometimes in tournaments like this, where we don't want to miss this opportunity, both of us travel. When we travel, we give charges to some other juniors or colleagues. They take care of our patients and try to manage up when we get back.

Swarnali: In the local tournaments, Sarbartho’s grandparents also help a lot. We usually don't go to local tournaments.

Sidhhartha: All the local tournaments are taken care of by our parents mostly. She (Sarbartho’s mother) is a Pediatrician. I am a cardiologist. It’s a really high pressure job. But this is all together different world. We enjoy this chess world more than that world.

Swarnali: Being a chess parent, every day we are learning a lot from the player, from the peer group, coaches and mentors.

Sidhhartha: We used to handle losses and disappointments. We have changed a lot.

Sagar: Can you give an example? Maybe it's useful for other parents who are starting out like how did you evolve in this journey of yourself as a parent and taking the losses.

Sidhhartha: Actually, as we are going on, mentors like Emil Sir or RB Ramesh Sir, Ramesh Sir recently he has started a Chola Chess chess project and Sarbartho is selected for that also. So, every month we go for five-six days to do the camp. Emil Sir does a parent-teacher session with himself. He councils us how to handle such things. He tells stories of how Pragg or Gukesh used to handle losses, real life stories. He was telling recently, Aravind Chidambaram was playing a tournament. He drew a match, Sir was happy. He said I was very angry. I thought of responding but I did not. Let the tournament be over, keep his morals high. So if mentors like him keeps on telling these things to us everyday, we also think in our mind that we should change. We should not respond.

Swarnali: In the initial times, we used to react and we could not handle. Recently, in one camp, R B Ramesh took a parent-coach meeting. He told one example that “Be like a fan or be like an AC in the room. Just provide the comfort you can as a parent. Because you love your child. You will support definitely. But don't expect anything. At least try to.”

Sidhhartha: That was a very nice example. I mean we don't notice that the AC is running but we feel comfortable. So we parents have to be like AC. We have to comfort our child but they should not think that during the tournaments, that parents are present, they are constantly imposing something or reacting. Our reaction should be neutral. That's it.

Sagar: And lastly, I want to say this journey of a young kid who is talented to become one of the best in the world is very long. Do you find it to be challenging? Do you see it as something that as you go along, you will keep moving ahead. How do you see it as parents?

Swarnali: At this moment, we are enjoying. We don't want to think much about the future.

Sidhhartha: As long as he is enjoying, we will keep supporting him. That is the most important thing.

Sagar: But I think he loves chess.

Sidhhartha: Even after 12 hours of work on chess, if you tell him that somebody is going to play chess, whoever it is, he will instantly go.

Sagar: How did this love come about? Was there any specific reason? Was it your love for chess or was there something else?

Swarnali: We should say chess happened to us like life happens. And in the Covid time, when we are busy and treating patient, going outside and others were enjoying their home stay, that time it was our issue that how to keep him engaged. That time, we started about putting him in some coaching. Before that, he started learning chess from his father. At the age of one, his father presented a chessboard. I was astonished like what kind of gift it is.

Sidhhartha: Actually, I had such a passion. So I thought that if from an infant stage he plays with those pieces maybe he will develop a love for that. So that was my idea. Then when he was around 3.5-4 years, I am not a professional player, so I taught him basic things. I found that he is doing well. His mother found out a nearby coaching center for chess. Then it happened.

Swarnali: And there was natural interest. He used to calculate three-four moves at that time. We didn't think it was not natural.

Sidhhartha: Coaches also said that he is talented.

Swarnali: We thought of taking one year of proper coaching. Then it started and flowed.

Sagar: You both being doctors, do you feel like Sarbartho taking chess as his journey or maybe even career, you are happy with it?

Swarnali: For our child, we always thought that what he or she would prefer, we will support from day one. We never had this thing that we being in academics, our kids also has to become a doctor or something. Any extracurricular activities, sports in particular, obviously we will encourage.

Sagar: It's such a pleasure talking to both of you. I also love how you both are always patiently waiting for the games to end, and all the time being there. Congratulations and I hope that Sarbartho and the entire Team Freedom is able to go back home with medals.

Sidhhartha: We are rooting for the team. Thank you!

Swarnali: Thank you!