Shaunak, Vritika emerge as state U-15 chess champions, Shraddha wins silver

Nagpur: Shaunak Badole, Vritika Game, and Shraddha Bajaj gave Nagpur chess players a reason to cheer when the promising trio dominated the Maharashtra state U-15 chess championship in the Open and girls' groups at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on Wednesday. A record 302 players from 29 districts participated in the selection tournament organised by the Aurangabad District Chess Association.In the Open group, Shaunak remained unbeaten to clinch the eight-round tournament, collecting seven points and emerging as the new Maharashtra champion to confirm his berth for the nationals. In the girls' group, Vritika and Shraddha secured a top-two finish by completing the eight-round tournament with seven and 6.5 points, respectively.In the Open category, Shaunak lived up to his billing, and after winning six straight rounds, the 13-year-old took the sole lead. The 2070 Elo Shaunak drew the seventh and eighth rounds to finish the tournament with seven points and a better progressive score. Though Shaunak was tied with Chandrapur's Nihaan Pohane and Siddhant Salunke of Pune at seven points each, a better tie-break score helped the Nagpur prodigy clinch the U-15 state title. Shaunak gave a performance rating as high as 2125 Elo.In the girls' section, fourth-seeded Vritika and seventh-seeded Shraddha played well in tandem to register a top-two finish. In an all-Nagpur final round, Vritika ended Shraddha's unbeaten run to emerge as the champion with seven points. Despite suffering a fifth-round defeat to Pune's third seed Sai Patil, Vritika remained confident to win the title.In contrast, Shraddha was just a win away from claiming the crown, but as luck would have it, the 15-year-old lost the final round contest while defending with the black pieces against Vritika and finished second. On her way to clinching the silver medal, Shraddha held Sangli's top seed Shreya Hipparagi to a draw in the fourth round and stunned Pune's second seed Niharika Koul in the seventh and penultimate round.The top four finishers will represent Maharashtra in the Nationals slated at Ghaziabad in November. FINAL STANDINGSOPEN: Shaunak Badole, Nagpur, (7, 41); Nihaan Pohane, Chandrapur, (7, 40); Siddhant Salunke, Pune, (7, 39); Ram Vishal Parab, Mumbai Suburban, (6.5, 41)GIRLS: Vritika Krushna Game, Nagpur, (7, 40.5); Shraddha Bajaj, Nagpur, (6.5, 39.5); Sai Vijaysinh Patil, Pune, (6.5, 38.5); Viha Hiren Shah, Palghar, (6.5, 35).

Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays, public holidays, and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.