Devanshi, the Sister Who Moved First

Before Aditya became a continental gold medallist, he was the younger brother watching his sister build her own chess journey.

At 12 years old, Devanshi Singh is already an accomplished young Tanzanian player. In Cape Town, she represented Team Tanzania on Board Three in what was also her first international tournament.

The team had only around 20 days to prepare. Devanshi used that time carefully, following advice from her coaches and working through the chess puzzles they assigned her.

“It was a new experience for me, but it was really good,” she says. “The tournament was well organised, and I was very proud that we could do something good for Tanzania.”

Like her brother, Devanshi loves mathematics. She also enjoys history, a subject many of her classmates may not expect a chess player to mention first. She describes herself as kind, funny, caring and studious.

Her understanding of chess extends beyond competition. To her, the game develops critical thinking, pattern recognition and time management because every player must make decisions within a limited amount of time.

“Chess helps improve many skills,” she explains. “I would definitely recommend it to someone who has never played before.”

Her tournament was not without painful moments. In one game, Devanshi had established a winning position and was a full rook ahead. Then she made a blunder and was checkmated.

Her coach often tells her that the hardest game to win is a won game. Cape Town made that lesson real.

The mistake hurt, but it also became part of her development. Chess does not only teach players how to win. It teaches them how to examine failure without allowing it to define them.

When Devanshi saw Tanzania’s flag during the championship, the result became larger than her individual score.

“I was very proud of us as a team,” she says. “I was happy that I could do something good for the country.”