Dad sold apartment, quit job; mom pledged gold: Making of India's latest WGM Sahithi

NEW DELHI: In May 2019, before the pandemic had pressed the pause button on the world, Sagar Shah, already an International Master (IM) and one of the most influential voices in today's chess fraternity, wrote a line in his ChessBase column: "Just like Humpy (Koneru) and Harika (Dronavalli) have made the world take note of Indian women's chess over the years, we have a feeling that within a few years Sahithi (Varshini Moogi) and Savitha (Shri Baskar) will also be right up there with the best in women's chess!"More than seven years have passed, and the same line reads less like a prediction and more like a question of legacy, much like asking whether Lamine Yamal could become the next Lionel Messi for Barcelona or whether Carlos Alcaraz could carry the torch of Spanish tennis after Rafael Nadal.Both girls are now 19.