Bhat spent his early years studying the games of Paul Morphy and José Raúl Capablanca as a part of the Blue Knights.

At the age of 15 years and 10 months, Bhat became an International Master, at the time the youngest ever in U.S. history; this record was later surpassed by Hikaru Nakamura, Samuel Sevian, Ray Robson, and is presently held by Awonder Liang.

This fellowship was created to "identify and assist the best American chessmasters under the age of twenty-five by providing top-level coaching, strong competition and access to study materials.

While at Lynbrook, he played on his school's chess team, leading it to victory in local state and high-school competitions.

[3] Until receiving the Samford Fellowship, Bhat was employed at Cornerstone Research, an economic consulting firm headquartered in Menlo Park, CA.