12-year-old Harshad's maiden International title at Barbera del Valles 'B'

by Shahid Ahmed - 12/08/2019

12-year-old Harshad S from Tamil Nadu tasted success on his maiden voyage on the international soil when he won Barebera del Valles 'B' by scoring an undefeated 8.0/9 and finishing a half point ahead of the runner-up Greeshma Anand Dhumal, also from India, who increased a massive 249 Elo rating points in the entire tournament. With a performance rating of 2169, Harshad managed to increase his Elo rating by 90 points. Harshad made a draw in round 2, after that he won four consecutive games to take a sole lead which he maintained till the final round. Photo: Sathiesh

Tamil Nadu boy Harshad wins his first rating tournament in Spain

"This is the first time I have traveled abroad to play chess tournaments. Previously I got the opportunity to participate in World Schools Championship as selected player to represent India at Albania but due to financial constraints I could not make it. This golden opportunity to play overseas, is completely a wholehearted effort by my parents to provide exposure to tournament environments overseas and enjoy my passionate game without any pressure and target. They gave me enough liberty to select the tournament and the category in which I wanted to play." - Harshad exclaims about his maiden voyage.

Indian domination at Spain: Harshad and Greeshma grab the top two places | Photo: Sathiesh

Harshad delivered an undefeated performance and increased his rating by a massive 90 points

Certificate and Prize received by Harshad | Photo: Sathiesh

Here are a couple of games of Harshad annotated by him

Unheralded Harshad also credits his coach and shares his experience - "I am very happy to participate in XLII Open Internacional de Barberà del Vallès "B". This is my first title in any rating tournament and fortunately or unfortunately which I am not able to say has come on a foreign soil. I am very much indebted to my coach Visweswaran, K. who supported me throughout the tournament amidst his busy schedule. His technical and moral support kept me without any pressure to enjoy my game."

K Visweswaran is one of the most successful and popular coaches of the country

The runner-up of the tournament, Greeshma Anand Dhumal also from India, scored 7.5/9 to secure sole second position, finished 1.5 point ahead of the second runner-up and increased her Elo rating by a massive 249 points with a performance rating of 2165.

Gaining 249 Elo rating points is not an easy task

Final Standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	RtgI	RtgN	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	8		Harshad S	D-U1			IND	1932	0	INDIA	8,0	38,0	50,0	0,0
2	48		Greeshma Anand Dhumal	E-U1	w		IND	1563	0	INDIA	7,5	38,0	49,0	0,0
3	13		Rios Torondell Jaume	D		2056	CAT	1868	1879	Sant Cugat Club Escacs	6,0	40,5	52,0	0,0
4	2		Barcelo Tizon Cristian			2205	CAT	2069	2033	Sant Cugat Club Escacs	6,0	39,0	50,5	0,0
5	33		Malonda Rey Albert	E		1911	CAT	1758	1762	Mollet, Club D'escacs	6,0	36,0	47,5	0,0
6	18		Flores Linan Jose Luis	D-S6		2028	CAT	1852	1766	Barcelona, Club Escacs	6,0	33,0	44,0	0,0
7	40		Sarrate Presas Jordi	E		1938	CAT	1686	1723	Montmelo C.E.	6,0	33,0	42,5	0,0
8	3	MK	Villa Izquierdo Roberto			2210	CAT	2031	2085	Montornes C.E.	5,5	35,5	45,0	0,0
9	22		Dartmann Aubanell Catriona	D-U1	w	2006	CAT	1831	1681	Peona I Peo, C.E.	5,5	34,5	43,0	0,0
10	11		Hernandez Perez Xavier	D		2058	CAT	1894	1933	Cornella C.E.	5,5	34,0	43,5	0,0

Complete standings

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