ChessBase India Power recently organized (14th and 15th April) its first tournament in Ahmedabad under the aegis of Gujarat State Chess Association. It was the Gujarat State Rapid and Blitz Selection Tournament that saw a record number of 200 participants. Two players from each section were to be selected for the National Rapid and Blitz. The event was held at the Sports Club in Ahmedabad.
The playing hall was packed to the brim
The opening ceremony taking place with players raring for the action to begin on the board
Maulik Raval, known for his attacking and aggressive style of play, won the Rapid section
Maulik realized the importance of one second, when he down to his very last second on the clock against the talented youngster Naitik Mehta. Raval pressed the clock and got a few seconds as increment! Chess does teach you the value of time!
Even at the age of 80+ this man is takes his job of being an arbiter very seriously. Very inspiring!
Santosh Kumar Sinha is a highly experienced chess player of Gujarat and has trained some great talents. Just three months ago he beat one of India's biggest talents D.Gukesh. We did interview him after the game:
Santosh Kumar Sinha explains his win over Gukesh at the Bhopal International 2017
Maulik Raval won the State Rapid Championship 2018 by scoring 7.0/8. It was a five way tie at the top but Maulik had the best tiebreak.
The top four finishers in the rapid section. (From left to right): Jalpan Bhatt, Kartavya Anadkat, Maulik Raval, Karan Trivedi
Vrandesh Parekh, the talented youngster, won the title of Gujarat blitz champion 2018. He is being handed his first prize by Ankit Dalal, the organizer of the event.
Top four spots in the blitz section (from left to right): Parth Panchal, Vrandesh Parekh, Santosh Kumar Sinha and Ansh Shah
Interview with the winners Vrandesh Parekh and Maulik Raval by Ankit Dalal
The event was organized by ChessBase India Power and it was obvious to have the high quality books and softwares available at the shop. If you too would like to have these books at your event, write to us at qualitychessindia@gmail.com
Final rankings in Rapid section
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | 2 | Maulik Raval | IND | 2038 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 42,0 | 46,5 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Anadkat Kartavya | IND | 1976 | BJP | 7,0 | 0,0 | 40,0 | 43,5 | |
| 3 | 6 | Trivedi Karan R | IND | 1909 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 39,5 | 42,5 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Bhatt Jalpan | IND | 2002 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 39,5 | 42,0 | ||
| 5 | 53 | Parekh Vishrut | IND | 1405 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 37,5 | 40,0 | ||
| 6 | 79 | Samdani Sahil Sagar | IND | 1270 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 41,0 | 44,5 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Sinha Santosh Kumar | IND | 2188 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 39,5 | 43,0 | ||
| 8 | 11 | Ansh M Shah | IND | 1790 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 38,0 | 41,5 | ||
| 9 | 57 | Mehta Naitik R | IND | 1376 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 36,0 | 39,0 | ||
| 10 | 31 | Bardoliwala Nirmal | IND | 1514 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 32,0 | 35,0 | ||
| 11 | 14 | Chudasama Ankit | IND | 1755 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 39,0 | 43,0 | ||
| 12 | 5 | Rawal Shailesh | IND | 1936 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 37,0 | 40,5 | ||
| 13 | 37 | Bhrigu Suryanarayan | IND | 1466 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 37,0 | 40,5 | ||
| 14 | 33 | Trivedi Jindal | IND | 1503 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 36,5 | 38,5 | ||
| 15 | 10 | Patel Nishrut R | IND | 1805 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 35,5 | 39,0 | ||
| 16 | 18 | Pritesh Mehta | IND | 1626 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 35,5 | 37,0 | ||
| 17 | 42 | Thakkar Romil J | IND | 1453 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 35,5 | 36,5 | ||
| 18 | 51 | Mudaliar Nandini | IND | 1414 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 35,0 | 37,5 | ||
| 19 | 62 | Shah Vandan P | IND | 1362 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 34,5 | 37,0 | ||
| 20 | 19 | Dhanesha Jignesh | IND | 1622 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 34,5 | 36,5 |
Final rankings in blitz section:
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | 44 | Vrandesh Parekh | IND | 1480 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 35,5 | 37,5 | ||
| 2 | 29 | Panchal Parth | IND | 1577 | 7,0 | 1,0 | 39,0 | 42,0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Sinha Santosh Kumar | IND | 2161 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 38,5 | 42,5 | ||
| 4 | 11 | Ansh M Shah | IND | 1790 | IG | 6,5 | 0,0 | 41,0 | 44,0 | |
| 5 | 5 | Trivedi Karan R | IND | 1909 | IG | 6,5 | 0,0 | 37,5 | 40,5 | |
| 6 | 27 | Joy Pankaj Shah | IND | 1590 | IG | 6,5 | 0,0 | 34,5 | 37,0 | |
| 7 | 4 | Anadkat Kartavya | IND | 1976 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 40,5 | 44,0 | ||
| 8 | 59 | Babaria Rahil Pareshbhai | IND | 1409 | IG | 6,0 | 0,0 | 39,5 | 41,5 | |
| 9 | 8 | Patel Palak | IND | 1825 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 38,0 | 40,0 | ||
| 10 | 25 | Dhanesha Jignesh | IND | 1622 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 36,0 | 39,5 | ||
| 11 | 7 | Rawal Shailesh | IND | 1883 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 35,5 | 39,5 | ||
| 12 | 21 | Lumbhani Nikhil P | IND | 1652 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 34,0 | 37,5 | ||
| 13 | 124 | Kartik Bhatt | IND | 0 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 33,5 | 37,0 | ||
| 14 | 22 | AFM | Ankit Dalal | IND | 1643 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 33,0 | 35,0 | |
| 15 | 31 | Mudaliar Nandini | IND | 1565 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 32,5 | 35,5 | ||
| 16 | 9 | Saumil Nair | IND | 1804 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 31,0 | 34,5 | ||
| 17 | 35 | Shah Moxit J | IND | 1536 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 31,0 | 33,5 | ||
| 18 | 18 | Samdani Sahil Sagar | IND | 1713 | IG | 6,0 | 0,0 | 30,0 | 33,0 | |
| 19 | 2 | Maulik Raval | IND | 2089 | IG | 5,5 | 0,0 | 39,5 | 43,5 | |
| 20 | 94 | Patel Jaymin J | IND | 1115 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 37,0 | 40,5 |
Coverage in newspapers:
The tournament received excellent coverage in the printed media:
