PANJIM: The Goa Chess Association will participate in the U-7 National Tournament which will be held from June 1 to June 6 in Kolkata.
GCA will be sending 12 players including State number 1 in the boys and girls categories, Erwin Albuquerque and Poorvi Nayak respectively. Sairaj Narvekar and Diya Sawal ranked second in the boys and girls categories respectively .
The four were selected following their excellence in the State selection tournament.
The other players who will also participate in the tournament are, Lyia Silveira, Muriel Fernandes, Piyush Dessai, Ekang Malvankar, Aarav Ritesh Prabhu, Keegan Gonsalves, Ethan Mathew Silveira and Kavish Parab.
The team is coached by Avinash Malvanker and Savio C Silveira and Maria Anna Cleta Fernandes will accompany the teams as team managers for boys and girls respectively.
“For the first time we are sending such a big contingent for the National championship and this is a good step towards the development of chess in the State. I am delighted with the fact, that parents are showing such interest in this sport and assisting their kids throughout,” said Goa Chess Association Secretary Kishor Bandekar.
“This way the young chess players will get to earn experiences from competition at a very early age and will boost their confidence and morale. We at GCA wish all the 12 players good luck and I hope we get more and more chess players in the future,” added Bandekar.
The team will depart on May 30.
