From Discovering Chess to Representing Ireland
Woman Grandmaster Trisha Kanyamarala shares her inspiring journey in chess — from discovering the game as a child to competing internationally and representing Ireland.
In her own words, Trisha shares her story:
“Hi, my name is Trisha Kanyamarala. I was born in Hyderabad, and I grew up in Ireland, where my journey with chess began.
My journey with board games actually started with checkers at Heath National School, where I did my primary school. That was my first introduction to a board game, and it eventually led me to discover chess.
I started playing chess when I was eight years old. One of the earliest parts of my chess journey was going to the Curragh Chess Club every Saturday. When I was young, my family would go there regularly. James Forde, who continues to be involved in running the club, and Brendan Duffy were very supportive and helped me become more interested in the game. They made chess feel fun rather than something that was simply about winning and losing, and that had a big influence on me when I was young.
At first, chess did not really interest me that much. I actually got into it because I saw my brother playing and, as I did with most things, I wanted to do whatever my brother was doing! My start was quite slow. It wasn’t the case that as soon as I started playing chess, I was winning medals and trophies. Success did not come early to me; it took time.
As I started competing in more tournaments, travelling became a huge part of my life. When I was young, I travelled across 15 states in India, from Punjab to Kerala and from Maharashtra to West Bengal, experiencing the incredible diversity of the country along the way. These experiences gave me the opportunity to see different parts of India and meet people from many different backgrounds, while also teaching me a lot of valuable lessons.
During our time in India, my brother Tarun and I also started a chess club in Hyderabad called Anytime Chess. We wanted to create a place where people could simply come along and play games. We even developed our own rating system, allowing people of different playing levels to compete and keep track of their progress. It was another way for us to share our love of the game and make chess more accessible.
My secondary school, Portlaoise College, also played an important role in my journey. I had to miss school quite often because of chess tournaments, but my teachers and the school were very supportive and helped me manage both my education and my chess. Without their understanding and support, it would have been much more difficult to balance the two.
Trisha Kanyamarala Representing Ireland in Chess
As I gradually became stronger at chess, I began competing internationally and representing Ireland on the global stage.
View Trisha Kanyamarala’s official FIDE chess profile.
I have now travelled to around 40 countries for chess tournaments. Some of the experiences have been truly unique, I even had the opportunity to play a chess event on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
I have represented Ireland in European and World events, as well as at two Chess Olympiads. My first Olympiad was in Chennai in 2022, followed by Budapest in 2024. In both Olympiads, I played on Board 1 for the Irish Women’s team, meaning I was the team’s leading player. This year, I will once again represent Ireland on Board 1 at the Women’s Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan.
Travelling can look glamorous from the outside because I get to see so many new places, and I am incredibly grateful for those opportunities. But there is also another side to it. It requires a lot of patience, planning, energy, time and finances. There are flight cancellations, long journeys, changing schedules and dealing with tournament organisers. Over the years, these experiences have taught me to become much more adaptable and patient.
One of the things I love most about chess is that there are no gender or age restrictions. It is a game that anyone can learn and play. You can sit across a chessboard from someone much younger, much older, or from a completely different country or background, and still have a meaningful battle over the same 64 squares.
When I was younger, I also had to sacrifice some things to pursue what I wanted. I missed birthday parties, spent less time hanging out with friends and sometimes had to choose tournaments and training over other activities. It wasn’t always easy, but looking back now, I feel those sacrifices were worth it.
Becoming Ireland’s First Woman Grandmaster
My journey to becoming Ireland’s first Woman Grandmaster was also far from a linear one. For anyone unfamiliar with chess titles, becoming a Woman Grandmaster requires three strong tournament performances, known as norms, as well as reaching a rating of 2300. I had achieved the 2300 rating requirement a long time ago, so the norms became the main goal I was chasing.
I got my first norm in Dublin in 2020. At the time, I thought I would get my second one fairly soon. But then COVID happened, tournaments stopped and my chess slowed down. After a long wait, I finally got my second norm in Norway in 2024.
After that, I came very close several times. In almost every tournament I played, I hoped it would finally be the one where I got my last norm, but each time it seemed to slip away. There were many moments when I wondered whether I should quit or whether I was simply not good enough for the game. The process felt so long, especially after so many tournaments had not gone my way.
Just before I finally got my title, I had a particularly difficult tournament in the Polish League, where I lost three games in a row. My confidence was extremely low, and I felt like I had hit rock bottom.
But I persisted. I kept working hard, looked at where I was going wrong and, most importantly, trusted the process.
Finally, at the London Chess Classic in 2025, I achieved my third and final norm, with one round to spare. It was a huge relief. After years of chasing that final norm, I finally knew that I had done it. All those hours of training, travelling, competing and working on my chess suddenly felt completely worth it.
Reaching these milestones also led to some very special moments outside the chessboard. After becoming a Woman International Master in 2020, I was invited by then-President Michael D. Higgins to Áras an Uachtaráin in 2022 to recognise my achievement. After becoming a Woman Grandmaster, I was also congratulated by Taoiseach Micheál Martin with a letter. These moments were very meaningful to me because they showed me that the journey was being recognised beyond the chess community as well.
Chess has given me so much in my life, and I am incredibly grateful for the journey it has taken me on. I also want to give something back to the community and share my passion for the game. This year, I organised an event for Women’s Day to help spread more awareness of chess, particularly among women and girls, and I hope to continue doing more of this in the future.
Alongside playing chess, Tarun and I have also started our own company, Ireland Chess Technology Limited. Through the company, we write blogs about our tournaments and experiences, and we also work on websites, chess tools and software related to chess. You can find out more about it at Ireland Chess Technology Limited. It has been exciting to explore another side of chess beyond simply playing competitively.
I also hope that chess can continue to grow in Ireland. I would love to see greater support from local authorities and county councils for the development of chess, particularly for young people and women. There is a lot of potential for the game to grow here, and with more support and opportunities, I believe we can build a stronger chess community in Ireland.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without my family, friends, schools, teachers, chess clubs and the wider community who have supported me throughout the years. My journey has had plenty of ups and downs, but every experience has taught me something. Chess has shaped who I am, introduced me to people and cultures from all over the world, and taught me the importance of patience, resilience and believing in yourself even when things don’t go according to plan.”
Discover more inspiring stories from women in the Indian Ladies in Ireland community