Exclusive | The Estonian who played two chess tournaments in two formats on same day — and came out a champion

NEW DELHI: The size of Estonia, a country on the borders of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, is roughly equivalent to that of India’s capital, New Delhi. However, despite having nearly 30 times fewer people than Delhi, Estonia has carved a proud space for itself in the world of chess, and one of the biggest reasons behind that is 26-year-old International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Mai Narva. “Chess isn’t very big in Estonia,” Narva told TimesofIndia.com . “It doesn’t get so much attention, especially compared to countries like India or China. But when someone does well, like me or others, it makes it to the news, and that’s nice.” Almost a day-and-a-half drive south from Estonia is Batumi, a scenic city on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, which has hosted some of the m