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 When he left Dahegam, a town 20-km from Ahmedabad, 20-year old Parikh was unsure he would perform well or earn the International Master norm. But when he beat Taleb Moussa of United Arab Emirates in the first round he regained his confidence and thought he would reach his mission.
"Chess for me is a hobby," says the third year M.B.B.S. student from Gujarat. I want to serve the society and becoming a doctor is my goal and profession. In chess I would like to become a grandmaster.
At best he had finished third in the Sangli Open in 2000. He has three national titles under his belt. He won the National U-18 in 1999, National U-14 in 1998 and the National U-14 rapid in 2000. In the final round he required a draw and he got it quickly from Deepan
Chakravarthy.
His best victory was the one in the seventh round against GM Iuldachev. In fact his first norm came in Tata 2003 that he even forgot the number of games it covered. The second and final norm was a 20-game norm today from the 9-games he played here.
Valay is a tall well built kind person to meet. His father is a doctor and he too wants to serve the same profession. He learnt chess at the age of five from his neighbours. Time is what he is unable to find for his chess preparation. Chess was and will be a hobby he asserts.
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