Most people first meet Ethan Vaz through a result. It might be a tournament victory, a newspaper headline, a medal ceremony, a rating list, or perhaps the announcement that a fourteen-year-old from Goa had become one of the world’s youngest Grandmasters.
Those moments touch upon what Ethan has achieved, and explain why and how people discover Ethan, but they do not explain who he is.
Spend a little time with Ethan and another picture begins to emerge. You quickly realise that he is far less interested in talking about titles and achievements than he is about chess itself. Mention one of his achievements and, before long, the conversation drifts towards a game, a position that could have been played better, or an interesting opening idea, whether from one of his own games or someone else’s. For Ethan, every tournament and every milestone simply became part of a much longer journey of learning.
That quiet curiosity didn’t begin with titles. It was there from the very beginning.
Long before international travel became part of Ethan’s chess journey, before medals, titles and newspaper headlines, there was simply a chessboard at home in Goa. It had been bought for Ethan and his elder brother, Edrick, as an intellectual but fun activity. Their mother taught them how the pieces moved. Seeing how much both boys enjoyed the game, their parents enrolled them at the Brain Power Chess & Cultural Academy. There, Ethan came under the guidance of coach Prakash Vikram Singh, whose influence would shape the early years of his development. Shortly after beginning formal coaching, Ethan defeated his father for the first time. It was just another family game at the time, but looking back it reflected something that would become increasingly familiar over the years. Once something captured Ethan’s imagination, he wanted to understand it well enough to overcome it.
Ethan’s journey was never defined by a single breakthrough. Instead, it unfolded through a series of turning points that gradually expanded what seemed possible. An unexpected entry into a State Championship led to his first National Championship. The pandemic years transformed chess from an interest into an obsession. Online international championships during the COVID-19 lockdown revealed a level of strength that left even those closest to him in awe. Success against much older players at the National Championships was followed by medals for India, international titles and, ultimately, the Grandmaster title. Looking back, each milestone quietly widened the horizon, until one day the dream of becoming a Grandmaster no longer seemed quite so distant.
One thing, however, became clear remarkably early.
At just seven years of age, Ethan spoke openly in interviews about his dream of becoming the youngest Grandmaster in the world. To most people, it sounded like the confidence of a young child. To Ethan, it was simply a goal. As the years passed, local tournaments gave way to national championships, national championships to representing India, and, before long, to competing against some of the strongest young players in the world. Titles followed, but they always felt more like milestones than destinations. Every achievement simply raised another question, and Ethan’s instinct was always to go looking for the answer.
That outlook continues to shape the way he approaches chess today. He has never been afraid of stronger opposition, often choosing the more difficult path if he believes it will help him improve. Throughout his childhood, the question he asked more than any other was never about rewards or recognition. It was simply:
“Dada, when are you taking me for the next tournament?”
Overseas tournaments were never routine. For years, Ethan watched many of his peers travel overseas in pursuit of progress, hoping that his own opportunity would come one day. Until then, the only occasions on which Ethan travelled overseas were when he had the honour of representing India at international championships, and even those opportunities depended on whether the family could shoulder the cost. His first dedicated overseas exposure trip finally came in after more than half a decade of waiting, dreaming, budgeting and fundraising. Perhaps that is why Ethan never learned to think of tournaments as guarantees.
Ask those who know Ethan well, and they’ll rarely begin by talking about his achievements. They’ll remember the passion with which he analyses games long after the result has been decided, how calmly he responds to disappointment, and how quickly his attention turns towards preparing for the next opportunity. Even victories are often followed not by celebration, but by questions about what could have been played better. That same mindset has shaped far more than his chess. It has helped him navigate the many realities of pursuing an international career, from limited tournament opportunities and visa setbacks to making steady progress despite circumstances that were beyond his control. Through it all, Ethan has continued to respond in the only way he knows: with quiet preparation for whatever opportunity comes next.
Those qualities did not develop in isolation.
Although Ethan’s name appears on trophies and tournament tables, his journey has never belonged to him alone. His parents entered the world of competitive chess knowing almost nothing about tournaments, ratings or international travel, and learned alongside him as each new challenge arrived. His brother grew from childhood rival to trusted training partner. Coaches became mentors. The leadership of The King’s School embraced an unconventional journey, working with the family to help Ethan balance school with an increasingly demanding international tournament calendar. Sponsors, donors and well-wishers opened doors that talent alone could never have unlocked.
It has never felt like one person chasing one dream. It has always felt like a family discovering a journey together.
Away from tournament halls, Ethan is, in many ways, much like any other teenager. He enjoys school, particularly the opportunity to spend time with friends and play football and other outdoor sports. School has also given him something equally valuable: the opportunity to remain an ordinary teenager despite an increasingly extraordinary chess journey. He also enjoys badminton, table tennis and music. But before long, his thoughts inevitably return to chess and to the next tournament. He has rarely asked for much. And when he has, it has almost always been something that would help him become a better chess player.
By the age of 14, Ethan had represented India around the world, won international medals at the World, Asian, Western Asian and Commonwealth Chess Championships, become the world’s youngest International Master at the time, and achieved the Grandmaster title to become the youngest Grandmaster in India and the second-youngest Grandmaster in the world as of June 2026.
Impressive though those achievements are, they do not define Ethan.
The defining thread running through Ethan’s journey has been the curiosity that continues to drive him, rather than the titles he has earned. Despite everything he has already accomplished, he still approaches chess as a student, someone who believes there is always another idea waiting to be discovered, another game that can be played better than the last, and another tournament still to be won.
His long-term vision has remained remarkably consistent since childhood. The destination is clear: to continue progressing through each milestone, compete among the world’s very best, and ultimately pursue the World Chess Championship. Yet that ambition has always been grounded in a simple philosophy. Every title is earned one tournament at a time. Every rating milestone is reached one game at a time. Every dream begins with becoming a little stronger than yesterday.
Looking back, perhaps that is why Ethan rarely spends time dwelling on what has just been achieved. His attention has already shifted to the next opportunity to learn, to compete and to improve.
And if there is one question that perhaps captures Ethan’s journey from the very beginning, it is still the one he has been asking for years:
“Dada, when are you taking me for the next tournament?”