Akshayakalpa Karnataka State 2018: Four way lead with 6.0/6

by Sagar Shah - 17/04/2018

Six rounds have been completed at the Akshayakalpa Karnataka State Championships 2018. We have four leaders on 100% score - Thejkumar, Arvind Shastry, Girish Koushik and Yashas D. 14 players follow them on 5.5/6, which also includes the top seed Stany G.A, who drew his game against Likhit Chilukuri. The biggest prize money state tournament of the year organized by Akshayakalpais surely going to get exciting in the last four rounds. We have a report until round six with pictures, game analysis and more.

When the Akshayakalpa Karnataka State Championship 2018 started off we all knew that it was going to be a tight race to the finish between Thejkumar, Stany and Girish Koushik. When you have nearly 900 participants, every half point is crucial because you never know whether you may meet your key rivals or not. In that sense Thejkumar and Girish Koushik gained a huge boost as Stany was held to a draw by Likhit Chilukuri in the sixth round.

Showing some resourceful play from the white side of the Grand Prix Sicilian - Likhit Chilukuri | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Stany was definitely not thrilled to draw against a player rated 500 points below him, but he didn't really take all of his chances | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Thejkumar has had no real issues until now and beat A. Balkishan in round six and currently leads with 6.0/6. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

It's heartening to see Arvind Shastry, the secretary of UKCA, not only playing, but also playing really well. He is on 6.0/6. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Girish Koushik has not yet dropped any point and is on the top with a 100% score. He had a tough game against Manjunath J, but in the end Girish emerged victorious. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

M.G. Gahan, who is one of the favourites in this tournament, had to drop half a point against... | Photo: Amruta Mokal

...the current Karnataka State women's champion Isha Sharma. Gahan's reckless opening play was very nearly punished, but Isha let him off the hook. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Thekumar with the special Karnataka edition of ChessBase India t-shirts! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Hinduja and her better half Priyadarshan Banjan have worked hard to make this tournament a success. Here, you can see Hinduja in the latest ChessBase India t-shirt! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Playing in front of the banner of his sponsor - Kishan Gangolli | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Standings after round 6

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	1	GM	Thejkumar M. S.			2493	Mys	6,0	0,0	21,0	26,0
2	7		Yashas D.			2243	Shi	6,0	0,0	19,0	24,0
3	3	IM	Girish A. Koushik			2401	Mys	6,0	0,0	18,5	23,5
	9		Arvind Shastry			2175	Blu	6,0	0,0	18,5	23,5
5	18		Santoshkashyap Hg			1929	Blu	5,5	0,0	21,0	26,5
6	19	WCM	Isha Sharma		w	1926	Dka	5,5	0,0	20,5	26,0
7	8		Kulkarni Vinayak			2179	Blu	5,5	0,0	20,5	25,5
8	5		Gahan M G			2281	Dka	5,5	0,0	20,0	25,5
9	4		Sanjay N.			2346		5,5	0,0	19,5	25,0
10	22		Sekhawat Hussen			1915	Blu	5,5	0,0	19,5	24,5
11	25		Sudarshan Bhat			1892		5,5	0,0	19,5	24,0
12	15		Likhit Chilukuri			1988	Dvg	5,5	0,0	19,0	24,5
13	27		Sameer Ghotane			1881	Blu	5,5	0,0	19,0	24,0
14	2	IM	Stany G.A.			2493		5,5	0,0	18,0	23,5
15	39	AIM	Shashank Bhat G S	U16		1698	Dka	5,5	0,0	17,5	22,0
16	12		Augustin A			2065	Kod	5,5	0,0	17,5	22,0
17	17		Kishan Gangolli			1974	Shi	5,5	0,0	17,5	22,0
18	56		Rakshith Srinivasan	U14		1597	Blu	5,5	0,0	16,5	21,0
19	30		Raju M.			1799	Blu	5,5	0,0	16,5	21,0
20	43		Ramachandra Bhat			1661		5,0	0,0	20,0	26,0

Round 7 on 2018/04/17 at 9:00 am

Bo.	No.		Name	Typ	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Typ	Rtg	No.
1	7		Yashas D.		2243	6		6	GM	Thejkumar M. S.		2493	1
2	9		Arvind Shastry		2175	6		6	IM	Girish A. Koushik		2401	3
3	2	IM	Stany G.A.		2493	5½		5½		Santoshkashyap Hg		1929	18
4	4		Sanjay N.		2346	5½		5½		Sudarshan Bhat		1892	25
5	22		Sekhawat Hussen		1915	5½		5½		Gahan M G		2281	5
6	8		Kulkarni Vinayak		2179	5½		5½		Sameer Ghotane		1881	27
7	12		Augustin A		2065	5½		5½	AIM	Shashank Bhat G S	U16	1698	39
8	19	WCM	Isha Sharma		1926	5½		5½		Likhit Chilukuri		1988	15
9	30		Raju M.		1799	5½		5½		Kishan Gangolli		1974	17
10	56		Rakshith Srinivasan	U14	1597	5½		5		Ojas Kulkarni		2252	6

What's special at the Akshayakalpa Karnataka State?

As a part of Akshayakalpa Talks, Shri GVV Shastri performed the Nisarg Yoga in front of the chess community. The octogenarian was so flexible, it left everyone stunned. A lot of young kids watched this, which was the entire idea of this show - to get the chess community closer to a healthy way of living life.

Tremendous flexibility | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Can you believe his age is 82 years?! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Akshayakalpa has found a unique way to keep the chess community present at the tournament entertained | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Kids have started loving the Akshayakalpa organic milk and the consumption of the free milk provided to the players is increasing everyday! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

GVV Shastri, the expert in nisarg yoga is very careful about the food he eats and about anything that goes into his body. He was of the opinion that milk is not a healthy thing to drink. However, after he was given the Akshayakalpa milk, he became staunch adherent of the organic milk. Before he did the yogic poses above, he drank just one glass of milk as his breakfast.

The man who is making a huge difference in the world of chess - Shashi Kumar, CEO of Akshayakalpa | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Watch live games of Karnataka State 2018

Previous reports:

Akshayakalpa Karnataka State Day two: The build-up before the showdown!

Karnataka State Day 1: Kishan Gangolli is Akshayakalpa's Brand Ambassador

From rejuvenating agriculture to transforming chess - Know Akshayakalpa better!