Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 2: Earlier this year, 19-year-old Grandmaster Leon Luke Mendonca entered the prestigious Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee with high hopes, but illness and fatigue turned his much-anticipated debut into an uphill battle.
“I was just exhausted… I’d sleep 13 hours a day and had no energy to prepare. My whole mindset during the game was to go back to the room,” Leon told TimesofIndia.com. The Goan prodigy ended the tournament second last — a tough start to 2025.
Nine months later, Leon’s persistence has earned him a lifeline: he has been named the official reserve for the FIDE World Cup 2025 in Goa. If any of the FIDE President’s nominees withdraw before pairings are announced, Leon will step into the main draw.
Leon’s love for chess began at age four, sparked by a sibling rivalry with his sister, who had started lessons first. His talent showed early — at eight, he claimed a bronze medal at the World Youth Championship in Durban, a breakthrough that convinced his parents to make sacrifices for his career.
Leon’s father quit his job to accompany him on the tournament circuit, while his mother, a doctor, provided financial stability at home. Over the years, Leon trained under leading coaches, including GM RB Ramesh and later GM Vishnu Prasanna, who shaped his mindset with a more philosophical approach to the game.
His big breakthrough came in 2024, when he won the Tata Steel Challengers, earning a coveted place in the 2025 Masters. Despite illness derailing his early 2025 season, Leon bounced back with a joint second-place finish at the Chennai Grandmasters Challenger and a promising run at the FIDE Grand Swiss.
As only the second Grandmaster from Goa, Leon sees the World Cup reserve slot as another stepping stone on his journey to the top. “It’s about learning from patterns in my losses and putting that into practice,” he says.
For the boy who once tagged along to his sister’s chess class, the journey has been defined by perseverance and resilience — qualities that now fuel his quest for future chess glory.