Jay, Bajaj win U-19 chess titles

The tournament was organised by Chess Association Nagpur in association with G.H. Raisoni Sports and Cultural Foundation, MKH Sancheti Group, and Kalpana Prakash Welfare Foundation at M.K.H Sancheti Public School, Hindustan Colony, Opp. Sai Mandir, Wardha Road, Nagpur. Prizes for the event were sponsored by G.H. Raisoni Sports and Cultural Foundation.

In the Under-19 Open Group, Jay Sawalakhe easily won the championship with a score of 8 points out of 8. The nearest rival Vishwaditya Awasthi scored 6.5 points to achieve the second spot. Kushagra Paliwal, Sai Sharma, Chirag Lahoti, Shourya Ambone and Anvik Sontakke scored 6 points each and were placed from 3rd to 7th position based on their tie break scores.

In the Girls Under-19 Group, Sharddha Bajaj scored 7.5 points out of 8 rounds to clinch the title. Vritika Game stood second with seven points. Jeevika Ramteke and Anvika Ghodeswar scored 5.5 points each and were placed 3rd and 4th in the final list based on tie break scores.

In Under-9 Open Group, Nihansh Khode with score of 7.5 point was the clear winner followed by Mohammad Shafe Abdul Ahad on 6.5 points who bagged the second spot. Ritesh Jham, Dhawal Deshmukh, Aadvik Sukhdeve, Dhruv Daswani, Reyansh Chaudhari and Aarav Madan scored 6 points each and were placed from 3rd to 8th in the final list based on their tie break scores.

In the Under-9 girls Group, Gargi Harkare won all 8 games to annex the title while Ishika Choubey stood second with 7 points to her credit. Bhuvika Roy and Avika Rathi scored 6 points and were placed 3rd and 4th respectively based on tie break scores.

Jay Sawalakhe and Vishwaditya Awasthi in Under-19 Open Group, Shraddha Bajaj & Vritika Game in Under-19 Girls Group and Nihansh Khode & Mohammad Shafe Abdul Ahad in Under-9 Open Group, Gargi Harkare & Ishika Choubey in Under-9 Girls Group will represent Nagpur District in Maharashtra State Under-9 and Under-19 Open & Girls Chess Championship 2026.

Prizes were distributed at of Shri Bhushan Shriwas, Secretary Chess Association Nagpur. Senior chess coach SNA Akash Rewatkar and Chief Arbiter FA Bharti Dhote were present on the dias.

The chief arbiter was assisted by FA Amit Tembhurne, SNA Prayas Ambade, SNA Shyam Agrawal, SNA Shishir Indurkar and SNA Shrikant Bagde.