The first thing Grandmaster Shyam Sundar Mohanraj noticed about Harikrishnan A Ra was his calculation skills when he joined his academy, Chess Thulir in Chennai, as an early bird in 2022.
Harikrishnan, 24, on Friday earned his third GM-norm at the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France to become the country's 87th Grandmaster and bring joy to his coach Mohanraj, who has seen two players from his academy become GMs in a span of months.
The Chennai-based Harikrishnan earned his first GM norm some years back. He then gained his second one at Andujar Open in Spain.
Srihari L R became the 86th GM and now Harikrishnan has also achieved the feat.
"In a matter of two months, the academy has produced two Grandmasters. It feels great because of back-to-back GMs whom I have been training for last 2-3 years," said Moharaj, as he reflected on the lean phase lasting more than a year when he could not produce a GM.
"It's a big relief for both me and Harikrishnan. Because he lost two GM norms in a row."
Though he cannot recollect the exact date, Mohanraj remembers the month Harikrishnan, already an International Master by then, came to his academy seeking guidance to become a GM.
"He came to me in 2022, end of October, I suppose. He was quite a strong IM. That's when my academy had also started to get more IMs in regular camps. Harikrishnan was one of the early ones to come. Then slowly other people of similar level like nearly 10-15 joined," recollected Mohanraj.
"His strong point, I would say, was his calculation. But when I was training him, I made sure he was quite good at dynamics. Then he slowly became good at strategy also," said Mohanraj adding that Harikrishnan's determination and dedication was behind his success.
"Actually before the trip (to Europe to play in 10 consecutive tournaments) he told me, he will come back to India only if he becomes a GM."
Mohanraj believes Harikrishnan got inspired to take up the sport as his mother is a chess arbiter.
"Actually, his mother is also a (chess) arbiter. She also trains beginners. She used to do arbiter stuff in many Indian tournaments," said Mohanraj, while adding that Harikrishnan himself does a bit of coaching, which helps him polish his game as well.
"Being an IM, he was also co-learning quite well by doing training or by training others in my academy as well as privately."
While the coach doesn't know too much about Harikrishnan's academic qualifications, he says the newest GM has 2-3 degrees under his belt.
"I think he just finished his third one some two months ago. He doesn't go to college... he just writes exams and comes back and spends most of his time on chess and some fitness."
Mohanraj believes Harikrishnan should now aim for the 2550-2600 rating.
"His immediate future, I hope he crosses 2550 and 2600. And then, based on the motivation factor, let's see how he does. Because motivation is the key factor (at this age)."
The coach feels that Harikrishnan should also play in a couple of big tournaments to gauge his potential.
"For his level, I recommend he plays at least two strong tournaments and 5-6 relatively weaker events where you have the probability of winning top-three (positions). This way you get the confidence and get some money also."
"From now on he should strive to beat the 2600s and 2650s GMs. Events like the Qatar Open and all those kinds of super-strong Opens. So that's what I would recommend."
