Leon Luke Mendonca Interview | Olympiad performance shows the progress India has made

Grandmaster Leon Luke Mendonca, who played in the Challengers’ section of the second edition of the Chennai Grandmasters classical chess tournament recently, spoke about the popularity of chess in Goa, his travels for training, how GM Vishnu Prasanna changed his playing approach, his breakthrough title triumph at the prestigious Tata Steel Challengers (Wijk aan Zee) in January and his major takeaway from it, the inspirational gold-winning performance of the India men’s team at the 2024 Olympiad, and his short-term goal. Excerpts:

You are only the second chess Grandmaster from Goa, a State one wouldn’t normally associate with chess. So, how big a sport is chess in Goa?

So, chess is not too prominent in Goa. I think the first time we pretty much heard about chess was when this girl Ivana Furtado won double golds or something in the world youths (u-8 World Championship twice in a row). I’m not sure how many years back, but quite a long time back (2006 and 2007). That was the first time Goa pretty much heard of chess. But still, it was not a big thing. It still is not very big in Goa.

Coming from Goa, a place with little or no association with chess whatsoever, how did you get into chess? If you can shortly share the journey you’ve had…

My journey was kind of a bit different. My family never had a chess background. We never knew anything about chess until my sister started playing. So, my elder sister first started playing. I think she received a chess set or something for her birthday. And she started playing casually. Then slowly, she became more interested in it. And my parents enrolled her with one local academy. A couple was teaching chess to kids. So, she started going to that academy. I also kind of understood the rules by then. And she would come back from the lessons and show me some things she learned from there. So, that was how I first started.

And I liked to play. Like, I would usually just sit and play a game for both sides. That’s how I started playing in the beginning. Then, my parents realised that I was interested. So, they also enrolled me with the same people. And slowly, I even started playing some local tournaments in Goa.

So then, I started playing tournaments in India (outside Goa) as well. Soon, I started playing some age category events outside India as well. And then, my first open tournament outside India was in 2016. It just continued and never stopped.

Did you go anywhere outside Goa for training?

They never really did online training too much. At least, online wasn’t a real thing back then. So, it was mostly just in-person training. And also, we preferred it that way.

So, in the beginning, I was training with various coaches in Goa. The first time I went outside Goa for training was with Akash Thakur sir in Nagpur. He had like an extra guest room. So, he allowed us to stay there. He was a FIDE master and a very good trainer. He instilled in me some good training habits. He was one of the best trainers I’ve had in my early growth. He basically instilled in me a lot of good values and trained me very well.

And also other coaches like Rajesh Bahadur from Madhya Pradesh. Shashikant Kutwal, who is Akash Thakur’s friend. He’s from Pune.

Then, my first prolonged training with somebody was with R.B. Ramesh sir. Here in Chennai (Chess Gurukul). I was rated 1600 or 1700 (Elo rating) back then. I think it was in the beginning of 2015. And he would have these normal training sessions for the people in Chennai. So, we used to go especially to Chennai just for those training sessions. Sometimes, we would stay there for long periods of time just to get the training. And that, of course, helped me tremendously and improved my level a lot. I was there until the beginning of 2018.

Then, I started training with Vishnu Prasanna sir. He’s mentoring me right now. Just giving me psychological advice. He is my mentor and will be my mentor. He brought me to a new level and helped me understand chess in a much more broader horizon.

If you can be a bit more specific as to what he did…

So, before that, I was just training chess, like, for results. I trained to get better to get good results. But he made me understand chess from a philosophical point of view – understanding the game, studying the game, forgetting about results and all that stuff. So, just to study the game, the nature of the game. That kind of viewpoint he instilled in me.

In the beginning, it was very confusing because I’d never seen chess this way. But slowly, I got used to it and it definitely helped me understand chess a lot better. And, of course, chess-wise, he has trained me quite a bit and he brought me from 2200 (Elo) to where I’m right now. Other than that, I’ve also been with WACA (WestBridge Anand Chess Academy).

So, you’ve travelled quite a bit for training. From your perspective, which place has a very strong chess culture in India?

Definitely, Chennai. It’s the chess capital of India and I feel like I used to come to Chess Gurukul quite often in those days. So, it just felt like coming home, actually.

In January this year, you won the Tata Steel Challengers in Wijk aan Zee (The Netherlands). How was it playing in such a prestigious tournament?

First of all, I was very fortunate to get an invitation. I’m pretty sure Vishy (Viswanathan Anand) sir put in a good word to the organiser. Playing that event was a great experience, because it’s known as the Wimbledon of chess. I wanted to win the tournament, definitely. But, of course, I knew it was not going to be super easy.

And it definitely wasn’t. I was always in the second place, but never really winning until I got the opportunity in the last round. So, it was quite unexpected. But mainly, I was just focusing on playing my best and just giving my best in every game. And then, the thing of result only came at the end – in the last round – because I suddenly had a good chance.

In general, it was just a very good experience. I played very strong players as well.

Would you say that it’s a major breakthrough in your career?

Yes, I think so.

So, what’s the major takeaway from the tournament?

I mean I understood my style a bit more because I suddenly started outplaying people in chaotic situations, which I didn’t know I could do before. So, I only discovered it during that tournament. And I won many games in the second half of the tournament because of that.

I just enjoyed the experience, and I’m happy that I’ve got the opportunity to play next year as well because I won.

How are you looking forward to that?

It’s going to be my first super tournament. I’m very excited. After this event here in Chennai, I’ll be preparing full-time for it. And I won’t play any more open events.

You said that you sort of understood your style at the Tata Steel Challengers. So, how would you describe your style?

It’s hard to understand myself. Sometimes, I play well in slow situations, and recently, I’ve also been playing well in chaotic situations. I mean I remember in Tata Steel, I think five games out of 13, my King was roaming around like madness. But somehow, I didn’t lose a single of those games.

So, yes, since then I’ve discovered that I could do that. Also, in recent tournaments, I’ve played some games like that.

Would you say that you’ve become more resilient?

I think I’ve always been like that, but even in these situations, it was more apparent. Suppose it was just a dead loss, then I would create chances. I think, yes, it brought out that resilience in me.

Did you follow India men’s gold-medal winning performance at the 2024 Olympiad? How inspiring was it?

It’s very inspiring. Because, India had never won a gold, but it was pretty apparent that they were the favourites. So, it just shows the progress that Indian chess has made.

And I’m very happy to be a part of this generation of India taking over chess. I mean they made a dominating stance in Hungary. And yes, they played very well – all of them.

Was there anyone or anyone’s play that was particularly impressive? For instance, we’ve had people raving about Gukesh’s endgame versus China’s Wei Yi…

Yes, I think that was one of the turning points. Maybe, the turning point for India taking the gold. That match against China. It was a very tense game and in the last moment, it became tricky and Gukesh took over. So, that cost China the match and brought the victory to India.

But in general, I think all of them did really well. Even Arjun just kept winning games. He’s so good at that. Just keeps winning. I think they all did well and played well at the right moments.

You are from Goa, where people generally go to relax and have fun, and have become a GM at 14! Are you an ambitious person?

Actually, it is true that Goa has got that reputation. But my parents are pretty much normal people. My mother is a doctor, and my father is an engineer. I grew up pretty normally and level-headed. In fact, I’m the last person to go to a party.

In general, I’m ambitious. I haven’t progressed as far as I thought I should have since I became GM. But yes, my ambition hasn’t slowed down.

Do you have any short-term goal that you would like to achieve?

I want to become 2700 (Elo) first. I mean I’ve been at 2600 for the last one-and-a-half years. So, I think it’s long enough and I should make the jump soon.