13-year-old Indian prodigy wins adults title in Chicago Open

New Delhi, May 30 (UNI) Thirteen-year-old chess prodigy Gauri Shankar has become the youngest Indian to win the adults and non-masters section of the Chicago International Open Championship after jointly sharing the title with local player Matt Colant.

The tournament played from May 25 to 28 saw him win all his five games and draw the last game against Conant to become joint winner.

Even though Gauri was first in the final ranking list of the section, he had to share the title because as per US rules, no tie-break was played. Grandmaster Vadim Milov of Switzerland became the champion in the Masters section.

Gauri has already created history in United States by winning the Mid-American Open International Chess Championship in the same section to become the youngest Indian to win an International Chess Championship title in the United States.

This is his 22nd international chess victory and he is the only junior chess player to win a hat-trick of British Under-10 chess championships.

Former World Number one Garry Kasparov has also felicitated Gauri Shankar in New York on his outstanding accomplishments.

The seventh grade student from Tamil Nadu is getting full scholarship for his academic studies. He is currently playing in the United States and is scheduled to play in Europe as well.

UNI PM AY KN1336