Aarti and Sohum Lohia are changing chess, one move at a time

Sohum Lohia is trying to remember the first time he looked at a chessboard. “I started playing when we were living in Singapore,” recalls the lanky 15-year-old. “My dad and my grandfather didn’t really play seriously, but they were having a game. I was fascinated by the different pieces. I think I was about six at the time.”

Twisting uncomfortably in the manner of any teenager speaking to a stranger, Sohum is sitting with his mother Aarti in their home in Holland Park. The family…