Chess whiz kid, Advik Mittal has become the youngest person in the UK to complete the Supermaths National Abacus Maths programme.
The eight-year-old a pupil at Glasgow’s St Patrick’s Primary School has been selected to represent Scotland in the under 12 category at the forthcoming Liverpool Quadrangular International Chess Tournament.
Abacus Mental Maths is an advanced mental arithmetic programme.
Advik, who joined the BYITC’s (The British Youth International College) programme at just 5 years of age, said: “I am pleased that I am the youngest person in the UK to complete the mental maths programme.
“I have enjoyed it all. The teachers are very nice and friendly and help you a lot, and I’m sure that learning Abacus Mental Maths has also helped me improve my abilities as a chess player.”
Sachin Mittal, Advik’s father, said: “Advik started playing with numbers and loved them. He can calculate large sums rapidly in his head without the use of a calculator and this has greatly helped his ability to learn more about numbers and develop his analytical thinking skills.
“We are very grateful to Dr Rashmi Mantri and her colleagues at BYITC for providing this brilliant opportunity for Advik to advance his knowledge and understanding of numbers. I have no doubt at all that it has helped him achieve success also in chess.”
BYITC’s Founder Dr Rashmi Mantri, said: “We know that working on arithmetic problems alone can be monotonous, so we have introduced a competitive element so that students can improve their analytical skills in a more dynamic way.
“We have been delighted by Advik’s progress throughout the programme and anticipate that he will now go onto further explore his love of numbers by developing yet more sophisticated mathematical skills."
Advik made his international debut in chess when he represented Scotland in the World Cadets Chess Championships in Batumi, Georgia earlier this year. Here, 800 youngsters from over 70 countries participated across different categories (U8, U10, U12 open and girls).
Advik secured 4 draws and 2 wins against some of the best players across world, with some of his games lasting for more than 3.5 hours.
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