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Journalism of Courage
Goa’s Nitin Belurkar emerged as the sole leader with a perfect score of 5 points at the end of the fifth round in the third Maharashtra International Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament at Amanora Mall in Pune. The Maharashtra Chess Association is organising the tournament in collaboration with the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Belurkar, playing white, showcased strategic brilliance to defeat West Bengal’s seasoned Grandmaster Sandipan Chanda, continuing his winning streak and solidifying his position at the top of the leaderboard.
In other notable results from the A Category, Ayush Sharma of Madhya Pradesh upset Venkatesh Marani Rajendran to move to 4.5 points, while Georgia’s Sanikidze Tornike drew against Maharashtra’s Mohammad Shaikh, with both advancing to 4 points. Among other key matchups, Pantsulaia Levan of Georgia beat Padmini Rout, and Maharashtra’s Suyog Wagh scored a win over FIDE player Sachekachikhin Maksim.
Meanwhile, in the B Category, Karnataka’s A Balkishan clinched the title with 7.5 points after holding Tamil Nadu’s Ram Krishnan to a draw in the ninth and final round. Balkishan employed the Slav defense while playing black and wrapped up the match after 30 well-fought moves.
Balkishan received a trophy along with a cash prize of Rs 1.10 lakh, while Maharashtra’s Advik Agrawal, who also finished with 7.5 points but lost the final round to Nameet Chavan, was declared the runner-up and awarded Rs 95,000. Gujarat’s Anadkat Kartavya secured the third spot, also with 7.5 points, and took home Rs 85,000.
The B Category saw several gripping encounters, including Kartavya’s win over Maharashtra’s Shriraj Bhosale and Atharva Madkar’s victory against Jwalin Mehta of Gujarat. The tightly contested category featured players from across the country.
The tournament is being conducted according to FIDE regulations and will consist of 10 rounds, using a ‘Swiss-System’ format. This means that players are paired based on their performance, rather than in a traditional round-robin or single-elimination structure. Each player will receive 90 minutes for their moves, with an increment of 30 seconds added after each move, starting from the first move. The total prize money for the Maharashtra International Open GM Chess Tournament is Rs 30 lakh. It began on April 20 and will continue until April 28.
Aryesh Chakraborty is an intern with The Indian Express
