Patna: International rated player Rachit Jha won the men;s title in the 5th Balkeshwar Memorial Open Chess Championship at Block Office Kumhrar here on Monday. The tournament was orgnised by MVP Chess Club under the aegis of All Bihar Chess Association.
In the women’s category Priya Rani won the crown. In the decisive match of the tournament, top seeded international rated chess player Rachit Jha defeated international rated player Prakash Bhardwaj and got the first place in the men’s category while Ankit Ambikesh, Akarsh Anand, Prakash Bhardwaj, Aman Srivastava, Siddharth Jha got second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively.
In the decisive fifth round in the women’s category, international rated player Priya Rani defeated Aastha Rathore to win the title. Minki Sinha, Pammi Rani, Vriti Vaibhav, Khushboo and Aarti got second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth position respectively. Top six finishers were awarded prizes. Apart from this, all other participants were given mementos and certificates.
Chief guest Arun Kumar, Senior Treasury Officer, Patna, special guest Rajendra Kumar, Senior Vice President of All Bihar Chess Association and power lifter Deepali Nandi, Savitri Sinha, Mithli Mitra gave away the prizes. The function was presided over by Dr Arvind Kumar, President of MVP Chess Club. The stage was managed by MVP Chess Club Secretary Ved Prakash. Shubham Pandey proposed a vote of thanks.
