A 10-year-old girl from Malaysia has created Guinness World Records (GWR) for arranging a chessboard set blindfolded. Punithamalar Rajashekar achieved the feat in just 45.72 seconds, according to the records keeping company. The competition was held at Punithamalar's school, where parents the teachers association, as well as the school management were present to witness the record being created.
Punithamalar, who is a FIDE (International Chess Federation) registered member, regularly participates in nationwide tournaments and has won several awards, including Asia’s Outstanding Child Award of the Year 2022-2023. She has also participated in Malaysia’s Kids Got Talent show.
She is also the best chess player at her school, and has represented them at the district level.
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While speaking to GWR on her achievement and her mentor, Punithamalar said, "My dad is my coach, and we play together almost every day."
The idea to attempt the record came to her mind after watching a documentary about extraordinary human achievements.
"Seeing people push their limits and accomplish incredible feats really inspired me,” she explained. I was particularly drawn to the idea of setting a personal goal and pushing myself beyond my limits, and attempting a world record seemed like the perfect way to do that," Punithamalar said to GWR.
"I had already participated in various events such as Kids Got Talent, and felt that I wanted to do more to get recognition. My father suggested that I should focus on my passion, so my family and I decided I should break this particular record," she further said.
Other than playing chess the 10-year-old Punithamalar likes to memorize facts and pictures. She has participated storytelling and public speaking competitions held in various schools.
Elated with the achievement, the young chess champion wants to attempt another record in the blindfolded category.