THE Under-15 District Level Open Chess Championship organised jointly by River Dale World School and the Rotary Club of Cosmo Divas, Raipur successfully concluded on Monday. Authorised by the District Chess Association, Raipur, the championship featured intense competition in two categories, with Devansh Jain and Hetanshi Mudaliyar emerging as the champions in the boys’ and girls’ categories respectively. In the boys’ category, Devansh Jain clinched the top spot, scoring 5.5 points without a single loss. Pranjal Ahirwar secured second place with 5 points, followed by Ahilan Rai in third, also with 5 points. Nibhish finished fourth with the same score, while Bhavyam Jhawar secured the fifth position.

 

In the girls’ category, Hetanshi Mudaliyar won the championship with 4.5 points. Pratishtha Ahirwar claimed second place with 4 points, followed by Anshika Minj in third with the same score. Aaradhya Tiwari finished fourth with 3.5 points, and Savi Gauri secured fifth place with 3 points. Apart from the main championship, winners from different age categories were also honored. In the boys’ 7-year category, Yuvan Kashyap secured first place, followed by Lakshya Yadav in second and Atharva Tiwari in third. In the 9-year category, Arnav Goyal won first place, while Rajveer and Avyayukt Agrawal secured second and third, respectively. In the 11-year category, Arnav Jhamanani emerged victorious, followed by Pritesh Khan Tooja in second place and Swarnjit Nath in third. Among the girls, Prisha Saini won the 7-year age group, with Anishka Agarwal securing second place and Mishka Agarwal finishing third. In the 9-year age group, Danvi Mishra claimed the top position, followed by Anika Gupta and Vidya Yadav. In the 11-year age group, Ravi Sheyke was declared the winner.

 

All the winners were awarded medals, certificates, and trophies, with cash prizes also distributed among the top players. A total of 67 players participated in the championship, including 15 players with international ratings. The tournament was conducted in the classical format using the Swiss League system, featuring six rounds in the boys’ category and five rounds in the girls’ category. FIDE Arbiter Rohit Yadav served as the chief judge, with Senior National Arbiter Anoop Jha as the assistant judge, and Tushar Gupta and Utkarsh Yadav as supporting officials. A major highlight of the closing ceremony was the presence of Woman FIDE Master Alana Meenakshi, who interacted with the participants. Before the final round on March 23, Alana shared her journey as a chess player and answered the children’s questions in an insightful talk show, inspiring young talents to pursue excellence in the game.