Report by V.Vijayaraghavan, Chief Arbiter
The 57th TN State FIDE Rated Chess Championship was held at Karaikudi, the largest city in Sivagangai district . Our State’s prestigious event , was organised by Castles Chess Academy at Rm V Kalyanamandapam from 7th July to 14th July 2009. Two International Masters R.Balasubramaniam of ICF and DP Singh of Southern Railway alongwith Three FIDE Master Shyam Nikil & Vinoth Kumar of Chennai and Maheswaran of Virudunagar were vying for the coveted V J Brahmaiah Rolling Shield. The prize fund of 1 lakh rupees and the first prize of Rs.30000/- had assured a good standard of play. A total number of 120 players have participated from 24 districts and 8 affiliated units. Earlier The tournament was inaugurated by philanthropist Rtn. PHF Sri Rm N Karuppiah , President, SiDCA.
Ramnath Bhuvanesh , a 11th standard student of SBOA school took the lead at the end of 7th round by beating the fancied Shyam Nikhil of Chennai and Maheswaran of Virudhunagar in successive rounds. Ramnath lost a crucial round to Premnath of Mount Chess Academy in a time scramble. Meanwhile top seed Shyam Nikhil was cruising thro and won the championship with 8.5 pts despite losing to Premnath in the last round who had the same score of 8.5pts . Shyam was placed first ahead of Premnath by virtue of Buchholz tiebreaking score. Ramnath Bhuvanesh was placed third and lead a contingent with 8pts.
Karaikudi , is known as capital of Chettinad region which is the homeland of Nagarathars, a prosperous banking and business community. Notable is the educational institutions developed by Alagapar , the founder of Alagappa University. Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology (Accet),Alagappa Polytechnic located in Karaikudi, . Dr. Alagappa Chettiar is also responsible for establishment of Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) in this place.
All the players and parents were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the organisers,which is a special quality of people in this region. A dinner was hosted by Sri Rm N Karuppiah for a happy gathering on Sunday during the tournament. The PD function was graced by Shri CT Chockalingam, RM, IOB Karaikudi . Felicitations was offered by RM Rajamanickam, Correspondent, Leader’s Matriculation School and K N Saravanan , Shri Lakshmi Printers. John Kennedy of Matha Electricals welcomed the gathering and S.Athulan , Secretary Castle Chess Academy delivered the vote of thanks.
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