It was an opportunity for chess enthusiasts among schoolchildren to pit their skills against one another at The Hindu In School Chess Competition held at Saraswathi Vidyalaya in Vattiyurkavu on Sunday.
The competition, organised for students up to Class 9, in association with the Kerala Chess Association, an affiliate of the All-India Chess Federation, had 117 participants from three districts (Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta) competing in eight categories.
The under-9, under-11, under-13 and under-15 categories had both Open and Girls’ section. All the girls’ categories had three rounds. The open category had five rounds, except for the under-15 open category, which had three rounds.
Eight FIDE rated players were among the participants.
The separate section for girls with more prize money, a new feature in the second edition of the competition, has increased girls’ participation in the competition, Rajendran Achary, Secretary, Chess Association Trivandrum, said.
The prize distribution ceremony also was unique with chess prodigies Grandmaster S.L. Narayanan and under-9 national champion Anupam M. Sreekumar doing the honours. Anupam also competed in the under-9 girls category, winning it.
Speaking at the valedictory, Mr. Narayanan said tournaments like this would help unearth young chess talents.
Akshita Vardha of Saraswathy Vidyalaya won the first prize in the under-11 girls category while Nafeena Sameer of Sree Buddha Central School topped the under-13 girls category. Gowri Krishnadas of Sri Sri RaviShankar Vidya Mandir came first in the under-15 girls category.
Sreyas Payyapat of St. Thomas School and Vishnu Menon of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, topped the under-9 and under-11 open categories respectively. Rahul Krishna V. of Sarvodaya Vidyalaya bagged the first place in the under-13 open category while Subramanyam K. of Saraswathi Vidyalaya topped the under-15 open category.
The event, presented by Thyrocare, had Arrow Publications as its knowledge partner.
Cafe Alchemy by Imperial Kitchen was the snacks partner.
