Patna: The Bihar State Under-13 Chess Championship, hosted by the Katihar District Chess Association and sanctioned by the All Bihar Chess Association, started on Saturday at Agrasen Bhawan in Vinodpur, Katihar. After the first two rounds, 26 boys and 9 girls are tied at the top with 2 points each.
In the boys’ category, leading players include FIDE-rated competitors Pratyush Kumar, Tejas Shandilya, Avyay Sharma, Yatharth Nathani, and Arth Bhardwaj, all of whom have secured 2 points so far.
Among the girls, top seed Ankita Raj drew her opening match, allowing Navya Goenka of Muzaffarpur to join her at the top along with Aadya Shri, Abhishri Deepu, Shalini Srivastava, Dhanvi Karmakar, Arpita Singh, Akanksha, Aastha, Vishnu Priya, and Yahvi Golecha, who are all tied with 2 points.
The tournament was inaugurated this morning by Katihar Mayor Usha Agarwal, who performed the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony. The event was attended by prominent figures including Nand Kishore, Joint Secretary of the All Bihar Chess Association and Chief Arbiter of the tournament, Iqbal Alam, Organising Secretary Pratyush Kumar, Katihar District Chess Association Vice President Shambhu Nath, Assistant Arbiters Niroj Khan, Kiran Devi, Rahul Kumar, and other dignitaries.
