Manipal 05-08: Kishan, Soundarya lead Nat-B; Stany on 8.0/8
The All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB), in association with the Manipal University, is hosting the National B Chess Championship for the Blind at T.M.A. Pai Hall in Manipal, a picturesque educational hub in Udupi, Karnataka. At the end of the penultimate round, Kishan Gangolli of Karnataka leads the National B for the Blind along with Soundarya Pradhan, while IM G.A. Stany has all but sealed his victory with a perfect 8.0/8. A pictorial report.
Manipal 05-08: Kishan, Soundarya lead Nat-B; Stany on 8.0/8
The All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB), in association with the Manipal University, is hosting the National B Chess Championship for the Blind at T.M.A. Pai Hall in Manipal, a picturesque educational hub in Udupi, Karnataka.
The AICFB, traditionally, has never charged any entry fees and all the players competing in this prestigious event are playing on the basis of merit, by qualifying from their respective zonal tournaments.
The Manipal University is organizing this tournament along with an Open rating tournament, with a simple idea of building an audience for this sport, where the visually challenged player can truly play at a relatively higher level, compared to other games.
Remarkably, the organizers are providing quality boarding and accommodation facilities, and not just that...
Rankings after Round 08:
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | 1 | Kishan Gangolli | IND | 2044 | KAR | 7,0 | 39,5 | 35,5 | 37,25 | |
| 2 | 15 | Soundarya Kumar Pradhan | IND | 1591 | ODI | 7,0 | 36,5 | 32,5 | 32,50 | |
| 3 | 6 | Makwana Ashvin K | IND | 1756 | GUJ | 6,5 | 38,0 | 34,0 | 32,25 | |
| 4 | 11 | Aryan B Joshi | IND | 1639 | MAH | 6,0 | 35,0 | 30,5 | 28,50 | |
| 5 | 18 | Venkat Reddy S | IND | 1575 | A P | 6,0 | 34,0 | 30,0 | 26,00 | |
| 6 | 10 | Samant Milind | IND | 1686 | MAH | 6,0 | 33,5 | 30,0 | 23,75 | |
| 7 | 21 | Prachurya Kumar Pradhan | IND | 1566 | ODI | 6,0 | 32,5 | 29,0 | 22,00 | |
| 8 | 2 | Darpan Inani | IND | 1995 | GUJ | 5,5 | 41,0 | 36,0 | 28,75 | |
| 9 | 19 | Kakade Atul | IND | 1574 | MAH | 5,5 | 37,0 | 33,0 | 24,25 | |
| 10 | 3 | Krishna Udupa | IND | 1829 | KAR | 5,5 | 36,5 | 33,0 | 24,25 |
Check the pairings for Round 09 here.
Manipal University FIDE Open, 2015
The Open tournament that is being held alongside the National B for the Blind has attracted some 370 odd players from across the country. The excellent playing conditions, coupled with a friendly set of organizers, has enabled the tournament to begin on a positive note.
IM G.A. Stany has almost sealed his title by winning all the eight rounds that have come to close.
Ranking List after Round 08:
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | 2 | IM | Stany G.A. | IND | 2421 | KAR | 8,0 | 40,5 | 36,5 | 44,50 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Muthaiah Al * | U16 | IND | 2297 | Indian Oil | 7,0 | 40,5 | 35,5 | 37,50 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Gahan M.G. | IND | 2255 | KAR | 7,0 | 40,0 | 36,0 | 36,50 | |||
| 4 | 9 | Arvind Shastry | IND | 2209 | KAR | 7,0 | 38,0 | 33,5 | 35,75 | |||
| 5 | 23 | Balkishan A. | IND | 1925 | KAR | 6,5 | 43,0 | 38,5 | 35,75 | |||
| 6 | 10 | IM | Hegde Ravi Gopal | IND | 2191 | KAR | 6,5 | 43,0 | 38,0 | 34,50 | ||
| 7 | 4 | IM | Girinath P.D.S. | IND | 2317 | SCR | 6,5 | 41,5 | 37,0 | 35,75 | ||
| 8 | 7 | Vijay Keerthi K. | IND | 2248 | KAR | 6,5 | 41,5 | 37,0 | 34,25 | |||
| 9 | 8 | FM | Rajdeep Sarkar | U14 | IND | 2223 | WB | 6,5 | 40,5 | 35,5 | 34,75 | |
| 10 | 14 | Ojas Kulkarni | U16 | IND | 2000 | KAR | 6,5 | 39,5 | 34,5 | 34,25 |
Check the pairings for Round 09 here.