Players concentrating on their next moves in Bihar State Under-13 Chess Championship in Katihar.
By A Correspondent
Patna: The Bihar State Under-13 Chess Championship, organised under the aegis of the All Bihar Chess Association (ABCA) and hosted by the Katihar District Chess Association, witnessed intense competition on its second day.
In the girls’ category, four players are jointly leading the standings after the completion of three rounds. On the top board in the third round, Chhapra’s Mohini Pandit (rating 1557) defeated Patna’s Saanvi Singh (rating 1416) while playing with the black pieces, securing her third consecutive point.
On board two, Saharsa’s Anika Yadav (rating 1536) continued her impressive form, overcoming Patna’s Raj Shree (rating 1430) with the white pieces to claim full points. Meanwhile, on board three, Muzaffarpur’s Agrima Raj caused a notable upset by defeating Patna’s rated player Aradhya Prakash (rating 1476) with the black pieces, moving into joint lead.
On the fourth board, Purnea’s Navya Aakriti capitalised on the advantage of the white pieces to defeat Begusarai’s Arya Karn, also reaching three points.
In the boys’ section, after four rounds, Patna’s Javin Jaiswal stands alone at the top with a perfect score of four points. Five players are jointly placed second with three-and-a-half points each, making the contest highly competitive.
The presence of 19 rated players has significantly raised the standard of the tournament. The battle to secure the top two positions, which will determine qualification to represent the state, remains particularly thrilling. This was evident in the latest round, where only one result emerged from the top six boards, while the remaining matches ended in draws.
In the fourth round, Javin Jaiswal defeated Aryan Kumar of Purnea while playing with the white pieces on board two, consolidating his position as the sole leader.
However, with three rounds still to be played, the race is far from over. Devansh Keshri of Patna, Harshvardhan Singh of Darbhanga, Shivansh Barnwal of West Champaran, Vaibhav Anand of Lakhisarai, and Suronoy Das of Kishanganj remain in close contention, jointly occupying second place with three-and-a-half points each.
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