G Nigash and Keerti Shree Reddy become Tamil Nadu State Junior Open and Girls 2024 Champions
G Nigash scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win 52nd Tamil Nadu State Junior Under-19 Open Rating Championship 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. V Tarun and S Rohith scored 7.5/9 each. They secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. WFM Keerti Shree Reddy and Sindhusree K scored 7.5/9 each in 37th Tamil Nadu State Junior Under-19 Girls. Keerti won due to better tie-breaks, Sindhusree secured second place. V C Nivedita finished third scoring 7/9. The total cash prize fund of the tournament was ₹60000. The top three prizes were ₹7000 + trophy, ₹5000 and ₹4000 each. The five-day rating tournament was organized by Krishnagiri District Chess Association at Mathakondapalli Model School in Hosur, Tamil Nadu from 26th to 30th June 2024. This is Nigash and Keerti's first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photos: IA R Anantharam
13th, 14th and 12th seed claim the podium in Open; top seed wins the Girls
Number 13 proved to be lucky to G Nigash of Erode, as he won the Tamil Nadu State Junior Chess Championship at Hosur, as the 13th seed of the tournament. Top seed Keerti Shree Reddy of Chengalpattu overtook her teammate K Sindusree to win the girls’ title. Nigash scored eight points, half a point ahead of the second placed V Tarun of Salem and third ranked S Rohith of Karaikudi who were declared second and third respectively.
The fourth round win over the top seed Kavin Vijayakumar gave confidence to Nigash to have a smooth progress and the final round victory over B Badri Narayan stood in his favour to emerge clear winner.
Tarun’s win over the top seed Kavin Vijayakumar of Madurai in the ninth round helped him to clinch the second place
S Rohith started well in the opening, fumbled in the middle and recovered towards the end to record four consecutive wins to secure the third place. Ajjesh was relegated to the fourth place due the last round debacle.
Third seeded Ajjesh was the highest rated among the top five ranked players, the other four best players having the seeding from 11th to 14th.
Mrithyunjay Mahadevan of Chennai who had the fifth rank under his belt had the consolation of beating the second seeded S Gokul Krishna of Tirupur in the sixth round.
R Gokula Vishnu of Chennai scored seven points like four others and his final round win over Kiruthik Murugan M of Chengalpattu put him in the sixth place.
P Vignesh Kannan of Karaikudi had a blemishless record of not losing a game in the tournament. Though he defeated Gokul Krishna, four draws pushed him to the seventh place.
National Schools under 17 champion R Shadhursshaan of Aruppukottai did not meet many higher seeded players on his way to the eighth rank.
Keerti who was in the forefront for the most part of the tournament had a safe draw with Femil Chelladurai of Kanyakumari to make sure of the title in her bag. The draw also helped Femil to receive the fourth place.
Once Keerti drew the game, Sindhusree also split the point with V C Nivedita to put herself in the runner-up spot. Nivedita was benefitted by the draw to reach the third place.
R Lakshanaa of Tiruvallur also had seven points to her credit, but had to be satisfied with the fifth rank.
S Padmini of Chengalpattu was the topper among the 6.5 players to be placed sixth.
IA S Ganesh Babu and his team exhibited the arbiters’ duties very well. Mr. P Stephen Balasamy, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and Mr. Meru Secretary, Mathakondapalli Model School inaugurated the tournament in the presence of IA R Anantharam, Vice President, TNSCA, P Pragadesh and P Rajasekaran, Joint Secretaries, TNSCA.
Mathakondapalli Model School, Hosur, a child centric day cum boarding school managed by Rural Institute Community has many unique features, focussing more on sports. The lush green school has full of green trees with a plethora of flora and fauna and it is a scenic beauty. The 76 acres of nature surrounded campus has excellent weather and large plantation.
M. Meru, the secretary of the school is an expert in child development and protection with a notable skillset in enhancing educational curriculums by integrating sports, games, and life skills.
A total of 150 players participated from various districts of Tamil Nadu in this five-day nine round State Rating Under-19 Open tournament. It was organized by Krishnagiri District Chess Association at Mathakondapalli Model School in Hosur, Tamil Nadu from 26th to 30th June 2024. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.
Final standings in Open
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | RtgI | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Nigash, G | IND | 1865 | ERO | 8 | 50 | 54,5 | 47,25 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 2 | 14 | Tarun, V | IND | 1851 | SLM | 7,5 | 48 | 52,5 | 41,50 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 3 | 12 | Rohith, S | IND | 1866 | SVG | 7,5 | 43,5 | 47,5 | 39,50 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Ajjesh, J R | IND | 1939 | CHE | 7 | 55 | 59,5 | 44,50 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 5 | 11 | CM | Mrithyunjay, Mahadevan | IND | 1867 | CHE | 7 | 49 | 53 | 39,25 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 6 | 15 | Gokula, Vishnu R | IND | 1843 | CHE | 7 | 47 | 51 | 38,00 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 7 | 18 | Vignesh, Kannan P | U15 | IND | 1837 | SVG | 7 | 44,5 | 47,5 | 35,25 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 8 | 4 | CM | Shadhursshaan, R | IND | 1913 | VNR | 7 | 43 | 47 | 37,50 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 9 | 6 | Hari, Ganesh T | IND | 1897 | CGL | 6,5 | 50 | 55,5 | 38,25 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 10 | 8 | Yashwant, B | U15 | IND | 1883 | MDU | 6,5 | 48,5 | 53 | 36,25 | 0 | 5 |
A total of 87 girls participated from various districts of Tamil Nadu in this five-day nine round State Rating Under-19 Girls tournament. It was organized by Krishnagiri District Chess Association at Mathakondapalli Model School in Hosur, Tamil Nadu from 26th to 30th June 2024. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.
Final standings in Girls
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | FED | RtgI | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | WFM | Keerti, Shree Reddy | w | IND | 1908 | CGL | 7,5 | 50 | 54,5 | 43,50 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 7 | Sindhusree, K | w | IND | 1846 | CGL | 7,5 | 48 | 51,5 | 41,25 | 0 | 6 | |
| 3 | 4 | Nivedita, V C | w | IND | 1877 | CHE | 7 | 52,5 | 56,5 | 42,75 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4 | 11 | Femil, Chelladurai | w | IND | 1713 | KKI | 7 | 49 | 53 | 38,50 | 0 | 6 | |
| 5 | 19 | Lakshanaa, R | w | IND | 1669 | TLR | 7 | 45 | 49 | 35,00 | 0 | 7 | |
| 6 | 5 | Padmini, S | w | IND | 1872 | CGL | 6,5 | 49 | 53,5 | 36,75 | 0 | 5 | |
| 7 | 3 | Kanishka, S | w | IND | 1883 | SLM | 6,5 | 47 | 52 | 35,00 | 0 | 6 | |
| 8 | 20 | Kavyasree, S | w | IND | 1668 | SLM | 6,5 | 42 | 45,5 | 31,00 | 0 | 5 | |
| 9 | 17 | Trisha, B | w | IND | 1676 | CHE | 6,5 | 41,5 | 45,5 | 32,00 | 0 | 6 | |
| 10 | 8 | WCM | Sasvatha, A | w | IND | 1825 | CGL | 6,5 | 41,5 | 45 | 31,00 | 0 | 5 |
About the Author
Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of Titles Commission in All India Chess Federation, Vice President of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International and National Championships.
The report was edited by Shahid Ahmed
