TS boy AP girl clinch national chess honours

Hyderabad: Players from the two Telugu-speaking States are rocking in the world of chess. It has been an impressive month for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State with youngsters taking national spotlight with their exploits on the 64-square boards.

If Grand Masters Pendyala Harikrishna and Dronavalli Harika furthered their stature on the international firmament, youngsters are making hay on the national canvas.

It was as recently as July 19 that the Tenali-based International Master S Raviteja (representing RSPB) clinched the coveted National Challengers Championship at Noida.

Dhulipala Balachandra Prasad from Ponnuru in Guntur district and Hyderabad’s Fide Master K Praneet Surya took the next two spots to bring cheer to the two States.

Saturday saw a continuation of the golden run with Telangana State’s Erigaisi Arjun and D Jishitha of Andhra Pradesh annexing the boys and girls titles in the 30th Under-13 National Chess Championship, under the aegis of Gujarat State Chess Association, which concluded in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

With an aggregate of 10 points, Arjun of Warangal district defeated State-mate M Shreeswan of Hyderabad in the 11th round to win the gold medal. In the girls category, Jishitha of Atthili in West Godavari beat Poorna Sri of Tamil Nadu in the final round to log in 9.5 points and take the gold.

Incidentally, both have qualified for the World Youth Chess Championship to be held in Uruguay and also Asian Youth Championship to be held next year. Meanwhile, office-bearers of Telangana State Chess Association (TSTA) and Andhra Pradesh Chess Association (APCA) congratulated the players for bringing laurels to their States.