Just a week ago, in the bustling Grenke Chess Festival of Karlsruhe, Germany, Harika secured the top women’s prize at the Grenke Freestyle Open. In doing so, she became the first Indian to book a spot in a format that strips away the safety net of opening theory, leaving players with nothing but their raw intuition.‘It was my first freestyle tournament’Freestyle Chess, or Chess960, is a format where the starting position of the pieces is randomised. For players who have spent decades memorising thousands of variations in the Ruy Lopez or the Sicilian Defence, it is a terrifying prospect. Harika, however, walked into the arena with a zen-like detachment.“It was amazing, especially because it was my first freestyle tournament,” Harika told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive conversation. “I haven’t followed much of it before. I didn’t know anything about it. I went with a blank state of mind, that okay, whatever comes, I have to accept it because it’s something very new for me.”

For many elite GMs, the lack of control over the opening can be paralysing. For Harika, though, that was not the case. “I wanted to do well. But at the same time, I didn’t even know if it was too much to ask for because I had never played it. It’s been a sweet surprise that it went really well. Suddenly, I’m seeing chess in a different way.”Eye-catching resultsThe Grenke Open soon became a brutal proving ground against some of the best minds in the world. Harika’s run in the tournament included a stunning victory over American GM Awonder Liang and a high-quality draw against the legendary Levon Aronian, the man many consider one of the best in freestyle chess.“Since COVID, I didn’t play too many open tournaments, and I couldn’t play many of the extremely high-rated players. It’s been a while,” Harika admitted. “So, it’s a good reminder for myself too, and a good confidence booster. Like, you know, I could do fine with them.”Beating a 2700-rated powerhouse like Liang and holding her own against Aronian served a dual purpose. “It felt like I’m back to what I always used to do. During COVID and after that, I had a baby. Somehow, I couldn’t play too many open tournaments. This took me back to my old times.”The unfiltered grindThe road to Germany, however, was filled with uncertainties. Harika’s trip to Germany was a throwback to the solo traveller days of her youth, complicated by the shifting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that had recently caused flight cancellations across the region.“I booked my ticket long back by Qatar Airways. I wasn’t sure if I would be reaching or what the situation was because the flights were cancelling on and off,” she recalled. “I went one day before just so that in case something goes wrong, I would have enough time to somehow reach Germany.

“I had to take a train from Frankfurt. I missed the timings, and then I had to find my ways. The trains got delayed. It took some six to seven hours of midnight timing to reach the place. These things I haven’t done in recent times at all. We got so used to a certain comfort level where everything is arranged.”Rather than being frustrated, Harika found joy in the chaos as she admitted with a smile, “I enjoyed it. It felt like I’ve done this many times before, but we just lost touch of it. It was fun to get into these situations. It reminded me of my childhood days.”A festival of over 3,000 mindsThe Grenke Open is billed as the largest open chess tournament in the world, boasting over 3,000 participants. The sheer scale of the event was a sensory overload.“It took me back to my World Youth days. That’s when we used to see so many people playing around, so many boards. It was nice to see so many chess-loving people and fans,” she said.Explaining how she was able to avoid all the noise coming from the large gathering during her plays, she added, “Generally, once the game starts for me, I am completely out of the zone from everywhere. It didn’t change anything for me on the board.”This ability to zone out was crucial, especially given the tournament’s punishing schedule of two games a day, a format Harika hadn’t touched in years.‘It wasn’t a planned gap. I like to play in the open section’Since becoming a mother, Harika’s tournament appearances have been more selective.With the 35-year-old playing her last open tournament in 2024 in Sharjah, Many assumed her shift away from the Open section (where men and women compete together) was a conscious strategic choice. Harika clarifies that it was more about the natural flow of life than a retirement from the open circuit.

“It wasn’t a planned gap. I like to play in the open section. It just happened somehow due to circumstances and situations. Maybe the preferences changed after becoming a mother, but it wasn’t a conscious decision,” she told this website.However, the success in Germany has reignited that fire.“When I look back, I realise, ‘Oh, it’s been a while since I played open tournaments.’ I am always open to playing strong open tournaments. I really hope this year I’ll get back to some of them,” she asserted.Deciphering the “Chess960” riddle with HarikaFor the uninitiated, Freestyle Chess (Chess960) can seem like a different sport. With 960 possible starting positions, the book is thrown out of the window from Move 1.How did Harika, in her very first attempt, figure out positions that baffle even seasoned experts?

“I don’t think I have tips as such,” she laughed. “Finally, we need to understand that we are chess players. I’ve been playing chess for 26 years professionally. Somewhere subconsciously, even if I wasn’t sure, I was a chess player. I just kept playing moves on the board.It’s not as hard as we think it is. You just have to focus on what you know best, your ideology on where to put pieces and just go for it. I don’t know if it’s instinct or not, but it’s my understanding level suggesting me to do this. You have to believe in it because you’ve worked for years.”The road to the World ChampionshipHarika now joins a formidable field for the inaugural FIDE Women’s Freestyle World Championship. She will stand alongside the likes of Bibisara Assaubayeva, Dinara Wagner, and Alua Nurman as the pioneers of this new era.“It’s nice that they started doing this for women now,” Harika noted. “Earlier, Freestyle had become very normal for the men, but for women, there were no special tournaments. We neglected this format. Now that they are starting a serious World Championship, that motivates us to focus on Freestyle.”