chessbase india logo

534 kids take part in the Karnataka State Schools 2019

by Hinduja Reddy - 19/11/2019

When it came to GMs Karnataka had none until 2017. Now they have three. Recently they got their first WIM as well. Things are changing in Karnataka chess, but the biggest strength of the state lies in its youngsters. The number of students in schools who have taken up chess is huge! That's the reason why when the state schools championships was held in Bengaluru on the 16th of November 2019, a one-day event, you saw participation of as many as 534 youngsters! The National Schools held every year, boasts of around 1000 participants. Karnataka already has half the number in its own state! Read this article by Hinduja Reddy to know who were the winners at the event and also know more about the organizers and sponsors. This article also tells you why Karnataka chess is booming in a big way! 

Schools across Karnataka were invited to join a huge chess championship in the center of Bengaluru city. At two in the morning, the organizers started to set up nearly 300 boards. Few hours later, at 09.30, the students sat down, all set to begin their games. The auditorium was so quiet you could "hear a pin drop", according to a parent who brought her son to the Karnataka State Schools Championship.

 

The Karnataka State Schools Championship 2019, sponsored by Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, jointly organized by Chess Shoots Academy and Shree Medha Chess Academy, saw enthusiastic participation of over 534 children from across the state. It was held in six categories of under 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 years of age, separately for Open and Girls. The venue was Dwaraka Auditorium, situated between Ramaiah Medical College and Ramaiah Memorial Hospital and located at the heart of the city. Free Lunch was provided to all the participants and accompanying persons. Dr. Naresh Shetty, President of ‎M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, along with Shri. Dhir Kamal Singh, Senior Vice-president of M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, and Arun Mavaji, the Hospital Administrator, inaugurated the championship.

Dwarka auditorium - the venue of the event from outside...

And the playing hall bustling with chess activity from inside!

But before the rounds began everything was meticulously arranged well in advance.

And the event started off with a lively and colourful opening ceremony...

Boys and girls fought it out on the chessboard for top places in the event. And after the day-long contest, winners were given prizes. Cash prizes were awarded for top 3 finishers, and five trophies were given away for boys and girls in each category. Mr. Hanumantha.R, General Secretary UKCA & Joint Secretary of AICF; Dr. Muralidhar, Vice-President UKCA; and Mr. Shreekanth, founder-Shree Medha Chess Academy, in the presence of Chief Arbiter Vasanth BH gave away prizes to the top winners. Congratulating the winners, Hanumantha said that it was heartening to see so many children participating in the event. He expressed his gratitude to the parents, sponsors, and arbiters for making the event a grand success.

Meet the prize winners!

Priyanshu Choudhuri became the champion in the under-6 open section scoring an unbeaten 6.0/6 points and finishing a full point ahead of the field.

In under-6 girls it was Aadya Ranganath who clinched the championship scoring 5.5/6 points.

Four-year-old Suprajna S. Jain who also played in the under-6 category was from Mandya district. She won the prize for the youngest participant in the championship.

Yuvanesh A took the first place in under-8 open

While Rudra Rajeev became champion of under-8 girls

Meanwhile, the winner in the under-10 Open was Akanksh U D. 

Avantika Banujit Narayan took the title in under-10 girls category. 

Advait Ratnakar Vibhute topped the under-12 Open section

While Eshanvi MN became the under-12 girls champion

In under-14 open Rishabh Kumara became the champion

And in the under-14 girls it was Renganayaki V

Rakshith Srinivasan won in the under-16 open group

And Harshini A became the under-16 girls champion

The winners in one frame!

Roots of Chess Shoots

Hanumantha R. started playing chess at the age of 21. The same year, he had represented his employer LIC in a National level championship during 1981.  Following a good performance, he was qualified to play abroad in Bangkok—first of many to achieve such a feat in Karnataka. Later in 1992, he dabbled as an organizer by conducting monthly tournaments, in memory of his father. Having conducted more than 100 tournaments, in last two decades, led to the inception of present-day chess culture in the state.  From less than a hundred FIDE rated players, the list grew over thousand - snowballing whole new players, coaches and in turn - whole new organizers. Hanumantha was instrumental in setting up the United Karnataka Chess Association (UKCA), the state body for the game. Since 2006, he assumed various roles in the UKCA. He also serves as Joint Secretary of All India Chess Federation. 

 

Jayaram Ramanna, the nephew of Hanumantha R, is an alumnus of Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne and an engineer of  RVCE, Bangalore. He was working as a Senior Design Engineer in Volvo before he decided to take a path not so mainstream. In 2011, he partnered with his uncle and founded Chess Shoots Academy (formerly known as C.V.Raman Academy).  A connoisseur of the game. His chess library boasts a collection of staggering 700 books. His most notable students’ list includes Pranav Anand, Shefali A.N, Ayush Yajaman, Abhyuday Santhosh, Rakshit Srinivasan, Siddhi Rao, Arhan Chetan Anand, Ananya Arumbakkam, Karthikeyan C, Aryan Jain, Aarvi Jain, Sachit Katti, Renganayaki V. Sathvik Adiga and Tejas Suresh Kumar.

New Organizer in the city

Shreekanth N is an Accountant by Profession, and chess lover at heart. He is the accounts officer at the Ramaiah Memorial Hospital. In January 2016, he traveled to play in the Delhi Chess Festival. Inspired by the colossal scale of the event, he envisioned to conduct a Grandmaster tournament, on par with the Delhi Chess Festival, in his home city. This year, he approached Chess Shoots Academy and is actively working to make his dream come true. This championship marks as the milestone for many more tournaments to come!

From Left: Hanumantha R., General Secretary of UKCA & Joint Secretary AICF; Sreekanth N, Accounts Officer Ramaiah Memorial Hospital and Founder at Shree Medha Chess Academy; Jayaram Ramana, founder Chess Shoots Academy

More Photos...

The successful participation of 534 children was definitely a phenomenal achievement for the organizers of the tournament

They might be tiny but they are mighty when it comes to making moves on the chessboard!

Chess parents! They are tensed sometimes and sometimes excited!

The shining trophies at stake!

The event went smoothly thanks to the 8-member arbiter team (Four are missing in this photo) 

Behind-the-scenes: The volunteers were working hard...

Final Standings

Under-6 open

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
134Priyanshu ChoudhuriIND06,00,018,021,0
241Shritan Narayanan SIND05,00,019,021,0
35Akilesh SubramanianIND05,00,018,520,0

Under-6 girls

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
11Aadya RanganathIND05,50,021,524,0
29Charvi AIND05,00,021,023,5
331Shreya RajeshIND05,00,020,021,0

Under-8 open

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
13AFMYuvanesh AIND11306,50,029,533,0
272Siddhanth PoonjaIND06,00,031,534,5
37Sarthak SharmaIND10176,00,028,032,0

Under-8 girls

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
133Rudra RajeevIND05,50,021,023,0
24Siddhi RaoIND10165,00,020,521,0
341Tanishka JainIND05,00,020,022,5

Under-10 open

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
18Akanksh U DIND11126,50,024,025,0
24Abhay HippargiIND11856,00,028,530,5
35Aarya Satish ChikodiIND11436,00,027,030,0

Under-10 girls

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
15Avantika Banujit NarayanIND10566,00,018,020,0
26Vaishnavi R RaoIND10565,01,022,025,0
39Amanpreet KaurIND05,00,018,018,5

Under-12 open

No.NameFideIDFEDRtg
1Advait Ratnakar Vibhute25775120IND1294
2Ahaan Raj25689193IND1242
3Nachiketh Vaasishta25743767IND1186

Under-12 girls

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
11Eshanvi M NIND13395,50,020,523,5
217Spurthi M NIND05,00,019,022,0
32Anoushka BhattIND11464,50,021,524,5

Under-14 open

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
15Rishabh KumaraIND12696,00,021,024,0
23Shirish JayaprakashIND13425,00,021,524,0
31Nihal N ShettyIND15215,00,019,522,0

Under-14 girls

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
11AGMRenganayaki VIND13535,00,017,519,0
24Chaya C PoojaryIND12085,00,016,019,0
32ManasaIND12394,51,019,021,0

Under-16 open

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
13Rakshith SrinivasanIND13154,50,013,015,0
21AIMKaushik G IyerIND14144,01,013,515,5
39Narayan IyengarIND11254,00,09,510,0

Under-16 girls

Rk.SNoNameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3 
12Harshini AIND13205,00,012,014,0
21Prema PIND13383,01,011,512,0
33Ananya RaoIND03,00,011,512,0

About the author

Hinduja Reddy is a 24-year-old Chess Entrepreneur who lives in Bengaluru. She is a former National Women's B bronze medalist, chess writer, coach and co-founder of ChessMine events.


Related news:
Farhaan dominates Alekhine Memorial Rapid Rating Open 2024

@ 22/02/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Sharan Rao convincingly clinches 6th Kudremukh Trophy Rapid Rating Open 2024

@ 27/01/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Arghyadip Das dominates 19th SNG Trophy Rapid Rating Open, Sharan Rao perfect at 20th Blitz Open 2023

@ 16/01/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Kartavya Anadkat dominates Mark Dvoretsky Memorial Rapid Rating Open 2023

@ 12/01/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Rathanvel wins Kashvi's 1st Rapid Rating Open 2023

@ 24/12/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Lokesh triumphs at Tal Memorial Rapid Rating Open 2023 with a 100% score 9/9

@ 27/11/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Kashvi Chess School invites you to highest ever prize fund for a Rapid Rating Open in India worth ₹26 lacs

@ 09/11/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Augustin A victorious at DKCA Rating Open 2023

@ 03/11/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Anwesh Upadhyaya wins Akshayakalpa Fiesta Rapid Rating Open 2023

@ 21/09/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Sammed Jaykumar Shete dominates Nipani Grand Rapid Rating Open 2023

@ 08/07/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Viani Antonio Dcunha dominates Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open Rating 2023

@ 31/05/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Akshayakalpa Karnataka State 2023 R7-8: Viani eyes victory

@ 30/05/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Akshayakalpa Karnataka State 2023 R5-6: Viani, Sharan, Augustin and Parthasarathy score a double hat-trick

@ 28/05/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open 2023 R3-4: The 1515s stir up trouble for the 2200+

@ 28/05/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open 2023 R1-2: Co-founder and CEO Shashi Kumar score 2/2

@ 26/05/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Akshayakalpa Organic Karnataka State Open Championship 2023 returns with a 10 Lacs prize fund

@ 25/05/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Shrihari Venkatesh Deshpande triumphs at 9th ICA Below 1600 Rating Tournament 2023

@ 01/05/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Bharat Kumar Reddy Poluri victorious at 5th Bangalore Open 2023

@ 29/04/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Bharath Subramaniyam H triumphs at 4th ICA Rapid Rating Open 2023

@ 24/04/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Pranav Venkatesh aces Promethean Rapid Rating Open 2023

@ 03/03/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Rathanvel V S wins 3rd SCMA Rapid Rating Open 2023

@ 18/02/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Stany G A wins Republic Day Cup Rapid Rating Open 2023

@ 08/02/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Ritviz Parab victorious at 5th Kudremukh Trophy Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 08/01/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Balkishan wins SIMSRH 1st Rapid Rating Open with a perfect score

@ 03/01/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Samarth J Rao wins 3rd All India Physically Challenged Rating Chess Championship 2022

@ 02/01/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Aakash Sharadchandra Dalvi is the winnner of SAS Ventures 2nd Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 12/12/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Vaisnav A dominates 8th ICA Below 1700 Rating Tournament

@ 06/12/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Sharan Rao dominates 2nd SCMA Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 27/11/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
54-year-old P D S Girinath triumphs at 1st BongCloud Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 16/11/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Chakravarthy Reddy clinches Sushruta Reddy's 1st Rating Open 2022

@ 23/10/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Laxman R R dominates 17th BRDCA Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 11/10/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Ajith MP triumphs at 3rd ICA Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 26/08/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Harikrishnan wins 9 Sportz All India Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2022

@ 13/06/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Laxman R R wins DKCA All India Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 28/05/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Himanshi Rathi clinches AICFB National Women Chess Championship for the Blind 2022

@ 14/05/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Thej Kumar wins SCMA All India Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 06/05/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Swara Lakshmi S Nair clinches 7th ICA Below 1700 Rating Chess Tournament 2022

@ 04/05/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Nitin Senthilvel wins All India Blitz Rating Open 2022

@ 30/04/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Kaustuv Kundu triumphs at 4th Bangalore Open 2022

@ 20/04/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Sammed Jaykumar Shete wins All India Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 19/04/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Arghyadip Das wins 16th BRDCA All India Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 31/03/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Pranav Venkatesh wins 4th Kudremukh Trophy All India Rapid Rating Open 2022

@ 20/01/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Rathanvel VS clinches R Hanumantha Memorial Cup All India Open Rapid and Blitz Rating 2021

@ 07/01/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
IM Muthaiah Al dominates Torpedoes Rashmi Shetti Memorial All India Rapid Rating Open 2021

@ 27/12/2021 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Sharan Rao emerges victorious in 15th BRDCA Karnataka State Open

@ 06/04/2021 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
38th BRDCA Rapid Open attracts 260 players all over India

@ 02/03/2021 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Karnataka's third and India's 63rd GM Girish Koushik gets felicitated by Infosys

@ 17/02/2020 by Ganesh Gopalan (en)
Advaith and Siddhi win Karnataka State under-9 Open and Girls 2020

@ 01/02/2020 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Stany wins Mandya Chess Academy All India Open Blitz 2019

@ 11/12/2019 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
Roto Lawyer's Cup is back

@ 22/10/2019 by Shahid Ahmed (en)