Spotlight #39: Ishika

Ishika Hirani, age 18. A hardworking genius, Ishika is always trying her best to come out on top and prove that effort beats natural talent any day of the week. Though she was introduced to chess at a young age, she wasn't able to show significant progress until her early teens. As such, she's no prodigy when it comes to the game, yet despite that has achieved the grandmaster title and become one of India's top female chess players.

One thing many don't know about her is that she is secretly a Japanophile. As such, she studies abroad at one of Japan's most esteemed universities. She's also really into maid cafes, to the point where she even works at one. Though if one were to recognize her, she'd naturally get embarrassed.