Eight-year-old Glasgow boy makes his maths talent count in Abacus challenge

AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Glasgow school student has become the youngest from the UK to complete the Abacus mental maths programme, one of the most advanced mental arithmetic programmes in the country.

Advik Mittal, a chess prodigy and a pupil at the city’s St Patrick’s Primary School, has been selected to represented Scotland in the under-12 category at the Quadrangular International Chess Tournament in Liverpool, a Glasgow Live report said.

He secured four draws and two wins against some of the best players in the world, with some of his games lasting for more than 3.5 hours.

“I am pleased that I am the youngest person in the UK to complete the mental maths programme,” Advik was quoted as saying. “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.”

According to reports, Abacus mental mathematics covers not only the maths concepts but the wider arithmetic operations of mathematics as well.

Advik made his international debut in chess when he represented Scotland in the World Cadets Chess Championships in Batumi, Georgia, earlier this year. The event included 800 youngsters from more than 70 countries.

His father, Sachin Mittal, said Advik started playing with numbers and loved them at a very young age.

“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,” he was quoted as saying.