Team Herald
TALEIGAO: Goa’s chess players had a pleasant opening in Category A of 2nd Goa International Grandmasters Chess Tournament held at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, Taleigao, on Tuesday which saw plenty of upsets among the top players which saw Indian players upsetting international GMs.
In Round 1, GM Anurag Mhamal (2497) defeated Jaeel Atharva (2098) while upcoming player Leon Luke Mendonca (2405) beat Md Abzid Rehman (2053).
Fide Master Nitish Belurkar (2353) defeated Bhat Jaipan (2001) and Nandhini Saripalli (1884) stunned International Master Praveen Kumar (2223). Anurag, Leon, Nitish and Nandhini are on 1 point at the end of Round 1.Devesh Anand Naik (1841) held Kushagra Mohan (2207) to a draw.
In other results, Venezuela’s No 1 player and tournament top player Bonelli beat Indian Fide Master Ramakrishna. India’s Ram Krishna beat GM Aleksandrov Aleksej. Manish Anto Cristiano F beat GM Karthik Venkataraman and Kumar Gaurav beat GM Lugovskoy Maxim while Karthik Rajaa stunned GM Himanshu Sharma. Balkishan A defeated GM Laxman RR.
Following the success of the 1st Goa chess tournament, the second edition turned out to be bigger and better with 37 Grandmasters including 5 Super Grandmasters with around 100 titled player with over 1200 participants from across 23 countries.
Speaking during the occasion Goa Chess Association (GCA) President Nilesh Cabral said, “We have received a great response from the participation for this tournament which has indeed grown from last year’s figures and this is the sign that we are growing. I welcome all the 1200 odd participants who have come a long way and we wish them a successful tournament ahead,” added Cabral, who welcomed all the 37 GMs personally.
“And I hope you will be looking forward to participate in our next event which will be announced during the closing ceremony. We are here today to develop chess in Goa and at National level and to help our Goan players to rise up. This gives the players a chance to increase the norms .We have changed our system to only make this tournament better then last time. Our aim is to recognise Goa as one of the best chess destination across the globe,” added Cabral who thanked the Goa Government for helping them by providing financial token.
Cabral played the first move of the tournament with Venezuela’s No. 1 payer Iturrizaga Eduardo Bonelli, who is tournament’s top rated player, to announce the tournament open.
AICF Treasurer and Tournament Director Kishor Bandekar said, “We are having our second edition just after nine months and we are thankful to AICF for having faith in us and giving us helping hand to make it a huge success and make it a best chess event in India.”
“I am happy to announce that we have a distinct record of having 37 Grandmasters from across 23 countries participating in the event and I thank each and everyone for making this a special event of our country. And I look forward to get same support in time to come,” added Kishor.
“We have a tri-coloured theme with a mix of Mahabaratha this year showcasing our diverse nature and culture to the world. This year, has been truly special as we have maximum participants in the tournament which was the dream of GCA President Nilesh,” Kishor concluded thanking CM Pramod Sawant, Sports Minister Babu Azgaonkar and SAG Director VM Prabhudesai for their support for making this a success.
