Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra works his way through some of the 25 games he is playing simultaneously.
Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra elevated the bar at the West Orange Chess Club in a Simultaneous Chess Exhibition held at the Toby Katz Community Center on Aug. 19.
Mishra is the youngest-ever player to achieve the title of Chess Grandmaster. He accomplished this feat at the age of 12 in June 2021. Mishra was born in New Jersey and is the highest-rated player in the state, the 13th strongest player in the U.S. among active United States Chess Federation members, and ranked 138th in the world among active FIDE members of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs, which translates to the International Chess Federation.
“In chess we call this a simultaneous exhibition, where one player plays many at the same time,” said Andrew Chan, West Orange Chess Club treasurer, chess coach, and an instrumental part of West Orange Schools’ chess clubs.
In all, 25 games were set up across tables at the community center. The event also served to support Mishra’s traveling and playing costs.
“There wasn’t a scoring system, but we kept track of wins, draws, and losses of the players,” said Chan. “Unfortunately, three hours wasn’t enough time to finish all 25 games, so we decided to try to speed up the results by having each unfinished game played one on one in a blitz format (each side gets three minutes to finish the game). At that point, it was pretty clear Mishra would win all the games, and he finished with 25 wins and no losses.”
West Orange High School Class of 2025 valedictorian Andrew Chan was the only player that had a chance/opportunity to win his game but couldn’t find it with the seconds he had left on the clock.
“We had a great crowd, and parents were happy to see their kids so excited to have an opportunity to play with such a young grandmaster,” Chan said.
When asked if Mishra enjoyed his visit to West Orange, Chan said, “Although it was a bit rushed, he did enjoy it. I managed to speak to him as I drove him to the airport, and he liked our setup and space for a local club. He appreciated how we ran the club and made him feel comfortable to be there. I hope he will have time in the future to visit clubs like ours to help revive interest in chess clubs again.”
Some of the younger players were excited about Mishra’s visit.
Himansh Rathod,10, was happy to get a chance to play against a grand master.
“Even though I didn’t win,” Rathod said. “It was still the coolest thing ever. I mean, how often do you get to play against a grand master who can think faster than a calculator?
Thirteen-year-old Devina Shah, founder of Queens of the Board Girls Chess Club, said, “When my coach, Andrew Chan, and dad told me I’d get to play in a simul against Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra at the local West Orange Chess Club, I couldn’t believe it. ”
When Mishra entered the room, he greeted each player with a warm smile and handshake before the games began. The room quickly shifted into quiet focus as players leaned into their boards, searching for the best moves.
“When it was my turn, I steadied my breathing and made my move,” Shah said. “Mishra circled the room calmly and confidently, but every time he returned to my board my heart raced. I carefully recorded every move — I wanted to remember this game forever!”
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