Passport lost, stranded alone in Europe: Survival of Md Imran, India's upcoming GM

At 16, Indian chess prodigy Md Imran was stranded in Slovakia after a bus carrying his passport, visas and belongings left without him. Despite the ordeal, financial struggles and lack of institutional support, he played on to earn two Grandmaster norms. Now on the verge of becoming India's newest GM, Imran urgently awaits reissuance of his US visa to join his scholarship at UTRGV before August 23.

By JYOTIRMOY HALDER