Ravi Kumar emerges champion

Indore, November 12: Ravi Kumar (11 points) of Chhattisgarh won the International rating chess tournament here on Sunday.International wom...

Indore, November 12: Ravi Kumar (11 points) of Chhattisgarh won the International rating chess tournament here on Sunday.

International women’s master and former Asian chess queen Anupama Gokhale (10.5 points) of Bharat Petroleum was runner-up while a duo of coach and disciple seasoned RS Gupta (Bhilai Steel Plant) and 14 year old Yashpal Singh (Chhattisgarh) secured third and fourth respectively.

In the final round, Ravi Kumar defeated four times MP womens champion Deepali Arvandekar (2.5 points) while Anupama was held to a draw by Indore youngster Aditya Soni (7.5) in Catalan Defence.

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Ravi Kumar, the second seed in this tournament, dedicated his victory to his coach VK Rathi. Most of the top board games ended in draws after bitter struggles. Former National champion Syed Nasir Ali (UP) exhibited his mastery over the game while defeating Mumbai school boy Sameer Thakkar in Catalan Defence.

Rajsthan’s Mohammad Arif defeated tailender V Kameswar (Andhra Pradesh) in a thrilling game to capture the fifth prize in this first ever international rating chess tournament.

Final rankings: 1. Ravi Kumar (Chhattisgarh) 11 points, 2. Anupama Gokhale (BP) 10.5 points, 3. Radheshyam Gupta (Bhilai Steel Plant) 10 points, 4. Yashpal Singh (Chhattisgarh) 10 points, 5. Mohd Arif (Rajasthan) 9.5 points, 6. RK Bagdi (MP) 9.5 points, 7. S Nasir Ali (UP) 9.5 points, 8. S G Joshi (UBI) 9.5 points.