Bhakti Kulkarni is a leading Indian chess player. She is the recipient of the FIDE titles – Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in 2012 and International Master (IM) in 2019. In 2022, he created history along with his teammates by winning the bronze medal in the Chess Olympiad held in Tamil Nadu. A first for the Indian women’s chess team.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Bhakti Kulkarni was born on Tuesday, 19 May 1992 (age 31 years; as of 2023) in Goa, India. His zodiac sign is Taurus. In 2022, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mumbai. According to Bhakti Kulkarni, she was introduced to chess at the age of two and a half by her father, who was a national level chess player during his college days. While talking to a media house, she recalled her childhood days when her father used to play chess and she used to sit on his lap and learn chess from him. Bhakti Kulkarni said,
I feel I am very lucky as my skills come from my father who was an avid chess player since his college days. I still remember sitting on his lap while he played chess and that’s how I learned this logical brain game at the age of two and a half years. When I turned 4, I started playing tournaments.
Childhood picture of Bhakti Kulkarni playing chess
Physical Appearance
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
Bhakti Kulkarni’s father’s name is Pradeep Kulkarni and mother’s name is Priya Kulkarni.
Bhakti Kulkarni with her parents
He has two brothers named Ankit Rajpara and Utsav Rajpara.
Bhakti Kulkarni’s brother
Husband
Bhakti Kulkarni is not married.
livelihood
In 1998, Bhakti Kulkarni participated in the State Under-7 Championship at the age of six and was selected for the National Chess Championship, where she finished third. He participated in the National Beat Tournament organized by the Goa Chess Association in 2008 and won the title of Best Goan. In 2009, she participated in the Indian team in the Women’s Asian Team Chess Championship and won the bronze medal in the individual event. Bhakti Kulkarni participated in the Asian Championships held in China in 2010 and won the gold medal in the under-18 category. During these championships, his coach Dronacharya Gokhale traveled with him to China.
Bhakti Kulkarni with her coach Dronacharya Gokhale and world champion Karpov in China in 2010
In 2011, Bhakti Kulkarni participated and won the Asian Junior Chess Championship. Subsequently, she participated in the International Women’s Chess Tournament – Open Vysokina held in the Czech Republic and won it in 2013. In 2016, she was the winner of the Asian Chess Women’s Championship. In the same year, Bhakti Kulkarni competed in the Women’s Asian Team Chess Championship in the team event.
Bhakti Kulkarni after winning one of the prestigious TMT- Asian Continental (Women) in Tashkent, Uzbek in 2016
In September 2018, Bhakti Kulkarni participated in the Fischer Memorial Chess Tournament in Greece and won the 3rd International Master Norm.
Bhakti Kulkarni on winning the 3rd International Master Norm at the Fischer Memorial Chess Tournament in Greece
In the same year, Bhakti Kulkarni earned the title of National Women’s Champion during the national tournament organized by All India Chess Federation and Rajasthan Chess Association.
Bhakti Kulkarni after winning the National Women’s Championship in 2018
In 2019, Bhakti Kulkarni participated in the Asian Continental Open and Women’s Championships held in Jingtai, China, where she defeated her opponent M Mahalakshmi in the third round and won the championship. After this she participated in the National Women’s Senior Chess Championship held in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu. And he won.
Bhakti Kulkarni on winning the National Women’s Senior Chess Championship in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu in 2019
In the same year, Bhakti Kulkarni was the bronze medal winner at the Chess Commonwealth Championships.
Bhakti Kulkarni poses after winning bronze medal at the Commonwealth Championships in 2019
In 2020, Bhakti Kulkarni participated in an online Chess Olympiad and won the gold medal.
Bhakti Kulkarni after winning gold medal in Chess Olympiad
In September 2021, Bhakti Kulkarni was ranked 2388th by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). On 10 August 2022, Bhakti Kulkarni and her partners became the first Indian women’s team to win a bronze medal in the Chess Olympiad held in Chennai, India. In the women’s category, Ukraine and Georgia won gold and silver medals respectively.
Bhakti Kulkarni (far right) after winning the bronze medal at the Chess Olympiad in 2022
award
In 2021, Bhakti Kulkarni was awarded the Loksatta Tarun Tejankit Award by the Union Minister of India, Prakash Javadekar.
Bhakti Kulkarni on receiving Loksatta Tarun Tejankit Award
Bhakti Kulkarni was honored with the Zeno Award in 2019.
Facts/General Knowledge
- According to Bhakti Kulkarni, she dedicates her success to her coaches. In a media interview, she revealed that when she was seven years old, her coach Raghunandan Gokhale started giving her chess training and in return he did not demand any fees from him. He said,
I cannot even imagine that I would have been able to achieve this success without Gokhale Sir and his wife Anupama Madam. Anupama Madam had won the Asian Women’s title in 1985 and 1987. I met him when I was 7 years old. He trained me without charging any kind of fee. ,
One of India’s most famous chess pairs – Arjuna Awardee Anupama Gokhale and Dronacharya Awardee Raghunandan Gokhale
- Bhakti Kulkarni often participates in many tree plantation drives and posts her pictures on social media. He is an ardent environmental advocate.
Bhakti Kulkarni planting a sapling at her home
- Bhakti Kulkarni is a fitness enthusiast. While talking to the media, she told that she regularly practices pranayam and meditation to increase her concentration power. In the same discussion, he said that these exercises kept his mind fresh before chess tournaments. Bhakti Kulkarni said,
To keep your mind fit in this game, you have to keep your body fit. Before games and tournaments, I do some pranayam and meditation to keep my mind fresh.”
- Bhakti Kulkarni is an avid bird lover. His pet bird is Baby Bulbul. She often shares pictures of her pet bird on various social media platforms.
Bhakti Kulkarni with her pet bird
- Bhakti Kulkarni regularly advertises ethnic women’s apparel brands on various social media platforms.
An Instagram post of Bhakti Kulkarni promoting an ethnic wear brand
- According to Bhakti Kulkarni, she likes singing and often sings at home to relieve boredom.
Bhakti Kulkarni singing a song
- In a media interview, Bhakti told that in her free time she likes photography, swimming and playing table tennis. She said in the same discussion that she was fortunate to explore other countries during her chess tournaments. He said,
Since I’m lucky enough to be able to visit other countries because of my sport, I carry my camera with me. I also like to play table tennis, so I like to play a game of chess during tournaments and I also like swimming.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn