Sakshi Chitlange cleansweeps Sangli!
Sangli has been continuing its great work on chess for 51 years now. This year, WIM Sakshi Chitlange ruled with first place. Apart from the Late Shri Babukaka Shirgaonkar Memorial, she also recently won the Women's Championship held in Sangli. The girl from Maharashtra has been performing consistently under the watchful eye of her coach - father Dinesh Chitlange. She recently also won the Shiv Chhatrapati award and also the outstanding achievement award by AAI. And did you know, she is a fantastic singer! In this article by Avathanshu Bhat, you get to know more about this amazing emerging talent in women's chess.
She is on a roll, by winning her last tournaments with grace and surprising ease. Yes, 17-year-old Sakshi Chitlange is on a rampage, with her recent win at the 51st Late Shri Babukaka Shirgaonkar Memorial in Sangli. The tournament in question has been going for 51 years now, and is the place where many chess players flock, where some of them discovered their talent and went on to become legends. Sakshi played in the same hall where players like Anand, Vidit, Harikrishna and Sasikiran among many others unearthed their talent.
A humble girl from the city of Aurangabad, Sakshi finished first with what seemed like no competition at all. Before this however, Sakshi won the Women's Championship in Sangli. She came second at the Asian Youth 2017 in Uruguay and is the winner of the Shiv Chhatrapati Award, along with her father, Mr. Dinesh Chitlange. The father-daughter duo is proving to be an amazing team. Sakshi is pursuing graduation in arts. She has a keen passion in singing as well. She is truly a champion! Sakshi is blessed to have her father as a coach. Sakshi and Dinesh are the first father-daughter duo in the field of chess to have received the Shiv Chatrapati award.
Know more about Sakshi in the interview below. Don't miss the wonderful singing nearing the end!
Here is the game which Sakshi talked about in her interview: the last round game at the World Youth Chess Championship against Julia Antolak annotated by Sakshi herself.
Also do look at this bonus game of Sakshi-Pimpalkhare:
The tournament in question went well, with around 190 participants. After Sakshi, the runners-up respectively were Vedant Pimpalkhare and Kiran Panditrao.
Final Ranking List:
Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | Gr | FED | RtgI | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | ||
1 | 4 | WIM | Chitlange Sakshi | U18 | w | IND | 2122 | Mah | 8,5 | 0,5 | 63,5 | 68,5 | 56,75 | 7 | ||
2 | 9 | Pimpalkhare Vedant | IND | 1943 | Mah | 8,5 | 0,5 | 62,0 | 66,0 | 53,75 | 8 | |||||
3 | 8 | Kiran Panditrao | IND | 1958 | CRSB | 8,0 | 0,0 | 64,5 | 69,5 | 53,50 | 7 | |||||
4 | 3 | FM | Dutta Joydeep | IND | 2125 | Wes | 8,0 | 0,0 | 63,5 | 68,0 | 52,50 | 6 | ||||
5 | 6 | Mohite Ranveer | IND | 2051 | Mah | 8,0 | 0,0 | 60,5 | 65,0 | 50,50 | 8 | |||||
6 | 14 | Jail Digambar | U14 | IND | 1751 | Mah | 7,5 | 0,0 | 61,5 | 66,0 | 46,75 | 7 | ||||
7 | 17 | Mulla Nihalahamad | IND | 1688 | MAH | 7,5 | 0,0 | 56,0 | 60,5 | 44,00 | 7 | |||||
8 | 31 | Aditya Savalkar | U14 | IND | 1471 | Mah | 7,5 | 0,0 | 55,5 | 59,0 | 41,00 | 7 | ||||
9 | 19 | Mishra Sanjeev | IND | 1645 | Mah | 7,5 | 0,0 | 54,5 | 59,0 | 42,25 | 6 | |||||
10 | 7 | Gandhi Anish | IND | 2043 | Mah | 7,0 | 0,0 | 63,5 | 68,0 | 44,50 | 7 | |||||
11 | 15 | Bhosale Shriraj | U16 | IND | 1739 | Mah | 7,0 | 0,0 | 61,0 | 65,5 | 43,00 | 6 | ||||
12 | 29 | Gogate Shirish | S60 | IND | 1507 | Mah | 7,0 | 0,0 | 59,5 | 62,0 | 39,50 | 7 | ||||
13 | 12 | Inamdar Sameer | U18 | IND | 1834 | Mah | 7,0 | 0,0 | 58,0 | 62,5 | 41,75 | 6 | ||||
14 | 33 | Ishan Sanjay Pagi | U14 | IND | 1466 | Goa | 7,0 | 0,0 | 58,0 | 61,0 | 39,50 | 5 | ||||
15 | 5 | Samrat Ghorai | IND | 2085 | Wes | 7,0 | 0,0 | 57,0 | 62,0 | 40,50 | 6 | |||||
16 | 13 | Shah Vishwa | U18 | w | IND | 1773 | Mah | 7,0 | 0,0 | 57,0 | 61,5 | 40,50 | 5 | |||
17 | 47 | WCM | Kriti Mayur Patel | U12 | w | IND | 1371 | Mah | 7,0 | 0,0 | 55,5 | 59,0 | 37,00 | 7 | ||
18 | 18 | Sawyan Baran De | IND | 1660 | Wes | 7,0 | 0,0 | 54,0 | 59,0 | 39,50 | 7 | |||||
19 | 21 | Ankur Mahesh Gokhale | U16 | IND | 1629 | Mah | 7,0 | 0,0 | 53,0 | 57,5 | 38,50 | 5 | ||||
20 | 43 | Porob Vraj | U14 | IND | 1387 | Goa | 7,0 | 0,0 | 53,0 | 57,5 | 37,75 | 6 |
Sangli is a wonderful platform for young kids. They have a variety of tournaments for all. Running a tournament for 51 years on end with the same vigor and passion is no joke. We are thankful to the Shirgaonkar and Padsalgikar family for their tremendous contribution to chess society.
For a detailed report about The legacy of Late Shri Babukaka Shirgaonkar Memorial, click the link here!