S Meenakshi is India’s 5th WGM

The Subbaraman sisters are atop the same perch now. Meenakshi, who has been living under the shadow of her celebrated older sibling, India&#...

The Subbaraman sisters are atop the same perch now. Meenakshi, who has been living under the shadow of her celebrated older sibling, India’s first Women Grandmaster Vijayalakshmi, is now a WGM too. She completed the most-required third norm here at the Commonwealth Chess Championship, at The Mirador on Saturday.

Even as the sisters’ act took the centrestage today — Vijayalakhshmi won her penultimate game, India’s Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay (16th seed) continued to share the lead with top seeded Nigel Short and Russian Pavel Smirnov. They have 6.5 points each.

The 8th round proved beneficial for India’s youngest National junior champion Abhijit Gupta who earned his second IM norm. Earlier, Gupta had stunned the championship by holding Nigel Short to a draw.

Meenakshi’s title will be ratified by FIDE very soon. The 22-year-old from Chennai was as collected and calm as ever when she limited her celebrations to a hearty exchange with Viji and colleagues. ‘‘I must say it came late. I would have earned it very long.’’ She had reached the required rating of 2300 much before but the final norm was eluding her for over a year after she had gained the second one at the Asian team’s tourney in July last.

In Odisha, Modi mounts ‘loot tantra-vs-bachat utsav’ attack on Congress over GST

India5 hr ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday hailed the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) structures, saying the era of “double bachat (saving) and double kamai (income)” has arrived under the Bharatiya Janata Party rule. Addressing the ' Namo Yuva Samabesh' in Jharsuguda, Modi accused the Congress of indulging in “loot tantra (tactics)” while in power.

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