JAMMU, Sep 12: Vivek Chess Academy organised its 6th Open Khelo Jammu Late Tara Krishan Memorial Chess Tournament at the Vivek Chess Academy premises, witnessing the participation of 26 players across different age categories.
Mitansh Magotra emerged as the overall champion, securing 6.5 points and remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament. Lakshya Chowdhary finished second with 5.5 points, while Amrita Gupta also scored 5.5 points to claim the third position.
The winners were presented with a total cash prize of Rs. 5,000, along with trophies and medals. The prizes were distributed by Chief Guest Parduman Gupta and Raman Gupta, Head Assistant, LG’s Secretariat, J&K, in the presence of VCA Director Vivek Bharti.
In the age-category competitions, Vihaan Sharma won the Best U-9 title with 3 points, while Naisha Handoo emerged victorious in the U-11 category with 4 points. The U-11 category witnessed a close contest between Naisha Handoo and Triyansh Verma, both of whom finished with 4 points. A tie-break match was subsequently played, with Naisha securing the gold medal.
Ishaan Chowdhary won the Best U-13 title with 4.5 points, while Gulshan Kumar emerged as the Best U-15 player with 4 points. Aarav Gupta secured the Best U-17 title with 5 points. Triyansh Verma received the consolation prize after finishing with 4 points.
The tournament was conducted under the supervision of Stuti Gupta, Senior National Arbiter, who served as the Chief Arbiter. Swiss software was used for the pairing of players during the competition.
The seven-round tournament produced several closely contested matches. Mitansh maintained his unbeaten run throughout the event, defeating Gulshan, Krishna, Aarav, Ishaan, Naisha and Ansh before drawing his final-round game against Lakshya. Lakshya also put up a strong performance, including victories over Krishna, Manushree, Surinder, Triyansh and Ishaan, before drawing with Mitansh in the final round.
Amrita also had an impressive tournament, registering victories over Naisha, Ruby, Aryaveer, Krishna and Triyansh, besides drawing against Surinder. The tournament provided young chess players an opportunity to compete in a structured seven-round format and gain valuable competitive experience.
The organisers congratulated all the winners and participants for their sportsmanship and performance, and expressed hope that such tournaments would continue to encourage chess, strategic thinking and competitive spirit among young players in Jammu.