After achieving this rating because of his performances in Northern California tournaments, Harsha went on to take first place in the K­3 category in the 2003 CalChess State Scholastic Championships April 12­13 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, thus adding yet another trophy to his growing collection.

The five 30-minute games are fresh in Harsha's memory, and since tournament regulation forbids anybody else's entry into the competition room besides the two players and the referee, it's fortunate that he remembers the winning moves from each game. "I pinned my opponent's queen and king in the fifth game and he was left helpless," Harsha says as he dribbles a basketball around his family room.

Harsha, 8, plays at the Country Lane Chess Club in San Jose run by William Quanrud. He previously trained at Alan Kirshner's school in Fremont, where he resided before moving to Cupertino.

At the chess club, Harsha joins approximately 100 other students every Friday to train and play chess for nearly three hours. Quanrud characterizes Harsha as a brilliant chess player and believes that the boy can rise even higher on the national level within the next year.

"Harsha's maturity is extremely evident during his play. ... I'm amazed at his resourcefulness; he sees an opportunity and takes it," says Quanrud. With a 1,250 rating, Harsha is halfway to his goal of a grandmaster rating of 2,500.

Harsha learned the game from his father, Ravi Nukala, at the age of 5. Once Harsha began winning games against his father, he enrolled in the Kirshner School and sought other means of learning and improving, such as by reading books and participating in the World Chess Network on the Internet. He still finds time to pursue his other interests, especially athletics; he plays basketball, baseball and soccer throughout the school year, and he excels at school.