IM Anup Deshmukh wins Khasdar Chashak Nagpur District Open 2018

The Tournament was open only for Nagpur District players and it was under the banner of Khasdar Krida Mahotsav. The six day grand tournament which started on 17th May 2018 and continued till 22nd May, 2018 at Naivedhyam Estoria, Kalamna, Nagpur, was the 1st ever district level FIDE Rating tournament by NDCA and the total cash prize fund was a sizable amount of Rs. 3,00,000. IM Anup Deshmukh started the tournament as the second seed and stayed rock solid throughout the tournament to remain unbeaten. Going into the last round Anup was playing on the 2nd board against the talented R. Sivasubramanium who was also leading the tournament with 7.5/9 points. It was a must-win situation but Anup ensured a thrilling end to the tournament by winning the game and clinching the title with a score of 8.5/10 points and better Buchholz score. He went home richer by Rs.50,000.

In the penultimate round Gurpreet Singh Maras beat his opponent Ayush Jugele and became the sole leader with 8 points. In the last round Gurpreet was up against the top seed FM Akash Thakur, staying true to his style Gurpreet played the Vienna Gambit and later in the middle game even sacrificed a piece for counter play but Akash handled the position very well and won the game in 27 moves. This result placed Gurpreet on 4th position with 8.0/10 points and Akash finished third with 8.5/10 points.

This tournament was very successful for the 16 years old Vaibhav Raut who finished joint first and remained unbeaten with 8.5/10 points. He pumped up his rating by a whopping 88 Elo rating points.

The tournament was organized and conducted by Nagpur District Chess Association under aegis of All Marathi Chess Association and All India Chess Federation. A total number of 295 players participated in this prestigious event, out of which 111 were rated players.

Earlier this event was inaugurated at the hands of International Master, Anup Deshmukh, who was the chief guest of the function. Hon’ble Shri. Krishna Khopde, MLA, East Nagpur, presided over the function.

Other dignitaries present were Shri. Sandeep Joshi, Chief organizer of the Khasdar Chasak and Corporator, Nagpur, Shri. Manoj Itkelwar, Vice President, AICF, Shri. Dilip Kamdar, President, NDCA, Shri. Manoj Chafle, coordinator, Shri. Piyush Ambulkar, Secretary, Khasdar Chasak , IA Swapnil Bansod, the Chief Arbiter. Mr. K. K. Barat, Secretary, NDCA, conducted the function and Shri. Dilip Kamdar, President, NDCA, proposed the vote of thanks.

The prize distribution ceremony was organized in a grand manner at the hands of Mrs. Chandatai Tank, Corporator, Lakadgand Prabhag, Nagpur, other guests present were Shri. Manoj Itkelwar, Vice President AICF, Shri. Manoj Chafle, Chess Incharge, Khasdar Chashak, Shri. Dilip Kamdar, President NDCA, Shri Shreyansh Kamdar, Vice President NDCA, Shri. R N Shrivas, Secretary VCA., Shri. Amit Sampat, Sports Reporter, Times of INDIA and IA Swapnil Bansod Chief Arbiter.

The team of arbiter’s namely Dy Chief : FA Pravin Pantawane, FA Deepak Chavan, SNA Umesh Panbude, SNA Sheetal Panbude and SNA Simantini Adane were very much competent and reacted in every condition with equipped technical knowledge.

It is my duty to thank Mr. Pravin Datke, in-charge and Shri. Sandeep Joshi, Chief Organiser, Khasdar Chashak, without them this event could not have been a grand success. I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Dilip Kamdar, President NDCA, for providing all facilities to officials, players and accompanying persons along with the hall and Mr. Umesh Panbude, Tournament Secretary NDCA, for his tire less work, dedication and support which helped to conclude this mega event with a grand success. 

Final Ranking after 10 Rounds

Click here for full standings

About the author:

Swapnil Bansod is an International Arbiter from Nagpur. He is young, dynamic and efficient and likes to indulge in all roles related to chess.