45th National Under 15 and 36th National Under 15 Girls Chess Championships 2019
KSR Educational Institutions, Tiruchengode, from 9th to 17th July 2019
The 45th National Under 15 Chess Championship and 36th National Under 15 Girls Chess Championship were held at KSR Educational Institutions, Tiruchengode, under the aegis of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and All India Chess Federation supported by Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Sports Autority of India and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu from 9th to 17th July 2019.
The championship attracted a total of 345 players (222 boys and 123 girls) from 25 states and All India Chess Federation for Blind. Tamil Nadu has the largest number of contingent with 182 players. Besides, Maharashtra was represented by 20 players, while Telangana and Karnataka contributed 19 players each. The total prize money for the tournament was Rs.2.5 lakhs.
The event was jointly organised by Namakkal District Chess Foundation and Sivakasi Chess Club. The Venue Sponsor KSR Educational Institutions made elaborate arrangements for the success of this mega event. The championship was conducted in air conditioned halls. Fifteen Digital Chess Boards (DGT) were used to podcast the live games of the top board games (10 boards in open & 5 boards in girls) on daily basises. Leading international chess websites like chessbase.com, chessbomb.com, chess24.com, aicf.in, tamilchess.com and followchess.com, etc. Podcasted the games live.
For the first time in the history of the Sub Junior chess championships an International Master and a Woman International Master were competing in the event. IM R Raja Rithvik of Hyderabad holds the unique record of winning the national under 13 and under 17 titles in the same year 2017 and Woman International master Divya Deshmukh of Nagpur, Maharashtra were the cynosure of all eyes in the entire tournament. Both top seeded players proved their worth by winning the titles in their respective categories.
Dr. M. Manickam, Chairman & MD – Sakthi Group of Industries & President, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association was the Chief Guest for the inaugural function, Lion Dr. K. S. Rangasamy, MJF, Chairman & Foundar, KSR Educational Institutions presided over the function, Mr.Venkatesan, Principal, ITI, KSR Educational Institution welcomed the gathering, Dr. V. S. Ramesh, President, Namakkal District Chess Foundation proposed the vote of thanks. Sri. R. Srinivasan, Vice Chairman, KSR Educational Institutions, Grandmaster RB Ramesh, member, Trainers’ Commission, FIDE & Indian team Coach for several Olympiads, Shri. R Anantharam, Vice President, TNSCA Shri. P. Stephen Balasamy General Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and Sri C.T. Periya Karuppan District Sports Officer, Namakkal were the guests of honour .
International Master Raja Rithvik and Women International Master Divya Deshmukh won Under 15 Nationals Open & Girls Chess Champion 2019 titles respectively.
The weeklong National Sub Junior Championship saw the new champion Raja Rithvik from Telengana, who scored an impressive 9.5/11. Among the girls, WIM Divya Deshmukh of Maharashra came out on top with 9.0/11 and won a hat trick of Under 15 national titles, a very rare achievement in the age category nationals.
The top seed Raja Rithvik suffered a minor setback in the second round, when he drewwith Chauhan Narayan from Uttar Pradesh. But he recovered and surged into the lead by winning four games. In the final round, he defeated the defending champion Ajay Karthikeyan of Tamil Nadu and clinched the title in the open section.
In the girls section, WIM Divya Deshmukh from Maharastra shot into the lead with four straight wins in the first four games. She played safely to maintain her lead in tournament with draws in 5th, 6th and 7th rounds. After two wins against low rated players Garima Gaurav of Bihar and Bhagyashree Patil of Maharashtra, she managed a draw in 28 moves with Mrudul Dehankar in the 9th and crucial round. In spite of having five consecutive wins Mrudul Dehankar from Maharashtra didn’t take any risk and played it safe with many draws Another three draws. She collected nine points to confirm her runner-up position. Jyothsna L of Tamil Nadu & Jain Nityata of Madhya Pradesh also won their respective games.
Shri. D.V. Sundar, Hon. Vice President, World Chess Federation, FIDE and Vice President, All India Chess Federation, Shri.Bharat Singh Chauhan, Chairman, Commonwealth Chess Association, Deputy President, Asian Chess Federation and Hon’ble Secretary, All India Chess Federation, Shri. R. Srinivasan, Vice Chairman of KSR Educational Institutions and Shri. P. Stephen Balasamy General Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association made their august presence in the prize distribution function and distributed the prizes.
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