Young talents to be seen in action in national Under-11 chess

Chennai, Nov 1 (UNI) The 20th National Under-11 chess championship will be held here under the auspices of Tamil Nadu Chess Association from November 3 to 11.

Players like Mahalakshmi (TN), winner of the Bronze medal in the World U-8 Girls championship at Georgia, J Sharanya (TN), former national Under-7 girls Champion and medaleists in the 2005 Asian championship V A V Rajesh (AP), Prince Bajaj (Del)and Fenil Shah (Gujarat) will be seen in action.

The championship held over 11 rounds in Swiss system will offer a prize money of Rs 70,000. The top finishers in both categories will represent India at the Asian and World Under 12 Chess Championships to be held next year.

The age group championships for children in the categories of U-10, U-12 and U-14 were instituted 19 years ago by All India Chess Federation (AICF) with sponsorship from its then President Dr N Mahalingam.

The talent spotted in this championship especially in the Under-11 age group will have a bearing on the future of Indian chess. The Under -11 champions of the last two years V A V Rajesh, Vidit Gujarathi, Lakshmi Sahithi and Padmini Rout had created waves at the World Youth Championships in Georgia.

UNI XR PDS BS1901