Visakh picks up U-13 chess title

Chennai, Oct 21 (IANS): N.R. Visakh of Tamil Nadu, with 10.0 points, emerged champion after a tense final round in the RAMCO 26th National Under-13 Open and Girls chess championship here Sunday.

Steady and solid play saw Visakh, a student of the Velammal Group of Schools, Chennai, annexing his first National title.

Top seed FIDE Master V.R. Aravindh Chithambaram (9.5) had to be satisfied with the runner-up spot as Visakh kept winning and could never be caught. Thus, it was a twin triumph for hosts Tamil Nadu.

In the girls section, R. Vaishali of Tamil Nadu had annexed the title with a round to spare. The fight for the runner-up spot was intense and finally it turned out to be a six-way tie, but Woman Candidate Master Savant Riya of Goa, was declared second with superior tie-break.

Behind Savant Riya wereTejaswini Sagar, Bakshi Rutuja (both Mah), Potluri Supreetha (AP), A.S. Saughanthika (TN) also at 8.0 points.

The cash prizes to the tune of Rs.1,79,000 along winner’s trophies were distributed by chief guest Bharat Singh Chauhan, honorary secretary, All India Chess Federation.

Final Placings:

Open: 1. N R Visakh (TN) 10.0, 2 V R Aravindh Chithambaram (TN) 9.5, 3-4 Pranav Vijay, A L Muthiah (both TN) 8.5, 5-10 Ritviz Parab (Goa), Abhimanyu Puranik (Mah), Aradhya Garg (Del), C Sai Vishwesh (TN), Manan Rai (Del), S Ajay Krishna (TN) 8.0 points.

Girls: 1. R Vaishali (TN) 10.5, 2-7 Savant Riya (Goa), S Ananya (Kar), Tejaswini Sagar, Bakshi Rutuja (both Mah), Potluri Supreetha (AP), A S Saughanthika (TN) 8.0 points, 8-10 Shiny Das (Tri), CH Meghna (Ker), C R Varsha (TN) 7.5 points.