World Chess U-10 Champion Girish A Koushik given rousing welcome

Mysore, Nov 1 (UNI) A rousing welcome was accorded to Nine-year-old Girish A Kaushik, who won the World Youth Chess Championship (Under 10) held at Georgia recently.

The fourth standard student was received at the Railway Station by his St Thomas Central School Principal and school mates who greeted him with flowers. City Chess Association office bearers also greeted the child prodigy.

In the Championship at Batumi, Georgia, conducted jointly by the Government of Georgia and Georgian Chess Federation, Kaushik secured nine points from 10 rounds and won the title with a round to spare.

He maintained a clean slate throughout the tournament and the final round result would become inconsequential as his rival was 1.5 points behind him.

Kaushik had earlier won Asian Chess Championship (U-8) held in New Delhi last year. With the World title, he now joins the elite group of Indian players who have won the U-10 title. Grand Master P Harikrishna was the first to win the title in 1996 and second was Sahaj Grover in 2005-06.

Kaushik, who became the first boy from Karnataka to win the World championship in Boys section, started playing chess at the age of three with his father Arun V Kaushik and Mother Lakshmi as coaches.

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