Varugeese Koshy, an international master, dies at age 66

Varugeese Koshy, an international master, a well-known trainer, and a mentor to many aspirants, passed away. He was sixty-six.

Along with his wife, Koshy leaves behind two boys.

About 10 months ago, Koshy received the devastating news that he had lung cancer, but he handled the ordeal with his trademark dry humor. He had said in October of last year, “Apna time aa gaya.”

As one of the few self-taught gentlemen in the chess world, Koshy began his career as a renegade. He had a clear edge over the majority of his classmates because of his hypermodern approach to the 64-squares.

Koshy emerged from the ashes at an age when computers had very little influence because of his exceptional ability to assess different positions. He went on to place second in the National Championship in the early 1990s for India.

Although Koshy made few appearances for the nation as a player, his greatest impact on the sport was as a trainer.

He was asked to tutor the young brain by P. Harikrishna’s grandpa sometime in the mid-1990s. Koshy and Harikrishna collaborated for a long time, and a few years later, Koshy went with him to the Netherlands for his first significant event at Wijk Ann Zee. Harikrishna proceeded to emerge as one of the nation’s greatest athletes in history.

Later, he mentored several other Indian athletes who would represent their country with distinction, such as former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta. All of his pupils have publicly acknowledged that he was a major factor in helping them reach their current success levels. Because of his aura, people would invariably address him with Sir or Boss after his last name.

“I am really heartbroken to hear about the loss of International Master Varugeese Koshy, sir, my old instructor. He was instrumental in assisting me in developing my profession and becoming an international master.

I gained discipline, ethics, and hard work skills under his tutelage, in addition to learning the game of chess. Harikrishna said on X, “A wonderful person who was instrumental in shaping the careers of many Indian chess players, including myself.”

A full-time trainer himself, Grandmaster N Srinath expressed his extreme sadness upon learning about this. I was coached by Koshy, sir. His influence on my career was enormous and it will always be felt.

“He has affected Indian athletes over several generations, not just me. I wish I could have spoken to him and seen him one more time.

“A person who is really kind and passionate about the game. Multiple national champion Padmini Rout recounted on social media, “I remember we sang his favorite song,’main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya,’ for him in his final PSPB competition before retirement.

Even though Koshy is no longer with us, his legacy will live on in the hearts of all chess players in the nation. Despite his fearlessness, he lost this particular battle with cancer on Wednesday afternoon.