Aakash and Vaishnavi are Tamil Nadu State Under-15 Open and Girls 2024 Champions
Aakash G and Vaishnavi S K became Tamil Nadu State Under-15 Open and Girls 2024 Champions. Both of them scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 each and finished a half point ahead of the rest. S Haridev and Ananya Raman scored 8/9 each, remained undefeated and secure runner-up in Open and Girls tournaments respectively. Arul Prakash N and Nivedita V C secured third place in their categories scoring 7.5/9 each. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹60000, ₹30000 for each event. The top three prizes were ₹7000 + trophy, ₹5000 and ₹3500 each. The five-day rating tournament was organized by Pudukottai District Chess Association at Chendhuran College of Engineering and Technology in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu from 15th to 19th May 2024. This is Aakash and Shanmathi's first rating tournament triumph of the year. Aakash went on to become 74th Tamil Nadu State Open 2024 champion after this. Photos: IA R Anantharam
Coimbatore bags a double
Coimbatore bagged a double in the Tamil Nadu State Under-15 chess championships, when G Aakash and S K Vaishnavi of the district convincingly won the titles in the open and girls’ categories respectively at Chendhuran College of Engineering & Technology, Pudukottai.
Several records were broken at the Under-15 Chess Championships, organised by Pudukottai District Chess Association at Chendhuran College of Engineering and Technology. 608 players is an amazing and best ever count for a state championship in Tamil Nadu. The participation of all 38 districts of the state is another unique feature, which has not been observed for the past several years.
G Aakash, rated 2241, a former National under-9 champion is the top seed in the tournament among the boys and Anaya Raman of Chennai in the girls’ category. Aakash conceded only one draw on the way to his title, collecting 8.5 points from nine games.
Similarly, Vaishnavi also settled for her only draw against fourth placed K P Theephigaa of Chennai.
Haridev S of Chennai scored eight points to win the second place. Four players collected 7.5 points – N Arul Prakash of Madurai and V Raghav of Chennai had better tiebreaks than the other two to win the third and fourth places.
Chennai players wrested the second to fourth places in the girls’ section. Top seed Ananya Raman had eight points to her credit. V C Nivedita and Theephigaa scored half a point less.
The top four players in both categories will represent Tamil Nadu in the ensuing sub junior nationals.
Recently crowned Tamil Nadu State Under-17 champion S Shanmathi Sree lost to the eventual champion Vaishnavi which dashed her hopes of consecutive titles.
Dr. S. Karthik, CEO of Chendhuran College of Engineering inaugurated the tournament in the presence of M Kannan, Joint Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and Dr. Ganesh Babu, Principal, Chendhuran College of Engineering & Technology.
Mr. N Subramanaian and Dr. Kavitha Subramanian, Trustees J J Group of Institutions distributed the prizes in the presence of Mr. M Ramachandran, President, Pudukottai District Chess Association and RM Vairavan, MD, Chendhuran College of Engineering & Technology.
A Angappan, the Deputy Chief Arbiter, a physically handicapped player is a role model for grit and determination. The FIDE Arbiter cum player runs a chess academy in Pudukottai and has been selected as the Deputy Chief Arbiter for the forthcoming nationals for physically challenged. His father and the organiser Adaikalavan has dedicated his life to his son and chess.
Chendhuran College of Engineering and Technology is a regular venue for chess events, which accommodates more than 600 players and equal number of parents easily. The beautiful air-conditioned hall was a big relief to the players in the scorching summer.
A total of 401 in the Open and 207 in the Girls participated from all 38 districts of Tamil Nadu in this five-day nine round Under-15 Rating Open and Girls tournaments. It was organized by Pudukottai District Chess Association at Chendhuran College of Engineering and Technology in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu from 15th to 19th May 2024. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.
Final standings in Open
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | Gr | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | CM | Aakash, G | U15 | 25832CBE2024 | 2241 | CBE | 8,5 | 51 | 55,5 | 52,25 |
| 2 | 3 | Haridev, S | U15 | 3718CHE2024 | 1931 | CHE | 8 | 53,5 | 57,5 | 50,25 | |
| 3 | 6 | Arul, Prakash N | U15 | 5543MDU2024 | 1859 | MDU | 7,5 | 52 | 56,5 | 44,00 | |
| 4 | 2 | Raghav, V | U15 | 2353CHE2024 | 1963 | CHE | 7,5 | 51,5 | 54,5 | 44,75 | |
| 5 | 26 | Prasanna, Karthick M | U15 | 24942TVM2024 | 1703 | TVM | 7,5 | 49,5 | 54 | 42,25 | |
| 6 | 11 | Saisarvesh, S | U15 | 2336TLR2024 | 1813 | TVLR | 7,5 | 48,5 | 53 | 43,50 | |
| 7 | 7 | Shashveen, A K | U13 | 17292CHE2024 | 1854 | CHE | 7 | 52 | 56,5 | 42,00 | |
| 8 | 19 | Logesh, Kumar R | U15 | 2962CHE2024 | 1740 | CHE | 7 | 50 | 53,5 | 39,25 | |
| 9 | 9 | Mohit, S | U15 | 2330CHE2024 | 1834 | CHE | 7 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 39,50 | |
| 10 | 14 | Jackson, V X | U13 | 2350CHE2024 | 1776 | CHE | 7 | 48 | 51 | 36,50 |
Final standings in Girls
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | Gr | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Vaishnavi, S K | U15 | 24516CBE2024 | 1689 | CBE | 8,5 | 50,5 | 55,5 | |
| 2 | 1 | Ananya, Raman | U15 | 2383CHE2024 | 1895 | CHE | 8 | 50,5 | 54 | |
| 3 | 3 | Nivedita, V C | U13 | 2390CHE2024 | 1805 | CHE | 7,5 | 50,5 | 53,5 | |
| 4 | 6 | Theephigaa, K P | U15 | 2735CHE2024 | 1747 | CHE | 7,5 | 49,5 | 52 | |
| 5 | 8 | Nafila, A | U15 | 6375NIL2024 | 1688 | NIL | 7 | 52,5 | 55 | |
| 6 | 11 | Kavyasree, S | U15 | 6571SLM2024 | 1617 | SLM | 7 | 47,5 | 51,5 | |
| 7 | 9 | Pradiksha, P S | U15 | 2323CHE2024 | 1650 | CHE | 7 | 46,5 | 51 | |
| 8 | 4 | Sahana, Shainsha | U15 | 5548MDU2024 | 1791 | MDU | 6,5 | 51,5 | 55 | |
| 9 | 24 | Janani, P | U15 | 9132VNR2024 | 1560 | VNR | 6,5 | 50,5 | 54,5 | |
| 10 | 46 | Vasanthi, S | U15 | 3967CBE2024 | 1446 | CBE | 6,5 | 50 | 52 |
Links
Chendhuran College of Engineering and Technology
About the Author
Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of Titles Commission in All India Chess Federation, Vice President of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International and National Championships.
The report was edited by Shahid Ahmed
