CMSarthak Deshpande

Sarthak Deshpande learned chess at four and began competing while still in kindergarten. An early tournament in Canada brought second place against children in first grade. He trained with Mrunalini Kunte at the Kunte Chess Academy in Pune. In June 2018, aged five years and eleven months, he became the youngest Indian player then to enter the FIDE rating list. His later achievements included silver in the under-ten section of the 2022 North American Youth Championship. He won the fifth-grade title at the 2023 Canadian Chess Challenge. In January 2026, he won Toronto Chess Centre's under-fourteen qualifier with five wins from five games.