Date:24/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/24/stories/2008052460682200.htm

Sport - Chess

Record entries for u-25 chess

CHENNAI: The State under-25 FIDE-rated chess championship for boys and girls beginning on Saturday at the Jawahar Vidyalaya, Ashok Nagar, here, has attracted a record number of entries.

The boys’ section for the Anapragada Trophy has brought in 102 entries, while the girls’ section for the Nivarthi Trophy has 51 players.

The nine-round Swiss championship will end on May 29.

The top seed in the boys’ category is P. Shyaam Nikhil, who was part of the Indian team that won the gold in the World youth Olympiad last year in Singapore.

In the girls’ section, the National u-17 champion, R. Preethi of Madurai, is the top seed. Several former National champions like J. Sharanya, Nabeela Farheen, P. Uthra, C.R. Varsha, are in the fray.

In the boys’ section, players like C. Praveen Kumar, Ram S. Krishnan, V.A.V. Rajesh and Arun Karthik have already taken their first step towards becoming International Masters by obtaining IM norms.

The total prize money of Rs. 20,000 and the Teneti Venugopal Rao prize for the best game of the championship are sponsored by Jawahar Vidyalaya. — Special Correspondent