Players concentrating on their moves in the Bihar Open FIDE Rating Chess Championship in Patna
By A Correspondent
Patna: The eighth round of the Bihar Open FIDE Rating Chess Championships, being held at the Pataliputra Sports Complex in Kankarbagh, concluded with Grandmaster Petr Kiriakov emerging as the sole leader with 7½ points. The tournament is jointly organised by the Bihar State Sports Authority, the Sports Department of the Government of Bihar, and the All Bihar Chess Association.
Five players are jointly placed second with seven points each, setting up an exciting final round.
In the eighth round, Kiriakov, playing with the white pieces, faced Bengal’s Parambrata Sarkar in a Nimzo-Indian Defence. Realising an inaccuracy in the opening, Kiryakov accepted Sarkar’s draw offer, ending the game peacefully.
On Board Two, Alekhya Mukhopadhyay and Ashutosh Kumar battled through a 70-move Caro-Kann Defence encounter that eventually ended in a draw. Despite Alekhya having a queen in the endgame, Ashutosh’s advanced pawns ensured a balanced result.
Maharashtra’s Indrajit Mahindrakar defeated Bihar’s Shubham Kumar in 28 moves on Board Three using the Rapport–Jobava System, joining the group in second place with seven points.
Board Four saw a hard-fought Italian Game between Bihar’s Piyush Kumar and Bengal’s Abhrojyoti Nath, which ended in a draw after 60 moves.
On Board Five, Nepal’s national champion Rupesh Jaiswal overcame compatriot Shailendra Neupane in a 65-move Sicilian Defence marathon, also moving to seven points.
The final round will be played on Sunday from 9:30 am, followed by the prize distribution ceremony at 4 pm. Bihar’s Education Minister Sunil Kumar will attend as chief guest, while Sports Minister Shreyasi Singh will be the guest of honour.
Six-Year-Old Holds International Master to Draw
In a remarkable moment earlier in the tournament, six-year-old Rudra Pratap from Saharsa held Zimbabwe’s International Master Kudzanai Mombe to a draw in the second round. Displaying fearless play, Rudra sacrificed material and forced a drawn endgame, drawing widespread admiration.
Three Generations Compete Together
In a unique family participation, Kamal Kishore Singh from Barahiya (Lakhisarai), his daughter Sushmita Kumari, and grandchildren Vaibhav Anand and Vaishnavi are all competing in the tournament. Notably, Vaibhav Anand is a former state Under-7 champion.
Top Results (Round 8):
* Petr Kiriakov (7½) drew with Parambrata Sarkar (7)
* Alekhya Mukhopadhyay (6) drew with Ashutosh Kumar (6)
* Indrajit Mahindrakar (7) defeated Shubham Kumar (6)
* Piyush Kumar (6½) drew with Abhrojyoti Nath (6½)
* Rupesh Jaiswal (7) defeated Shailendra Neupane (6)
* Prithvi Sharma (7) defeated Prakhar Tripathi (6)
* Ankit Das (6) drew with K.K. Chatterjee (6)
* Srihan Sabat (6½) drew with Sudhir Kumar Sinha (6½)
* Sameer Chaudhary (6½) drew with Bhupnath (6½)
* Sundaram Kumar (7) defeated Vedant Rajesh (6)
* Reyan Mohammad (6½) defeated Divyanshu Kumar Singh (5½)
* Gaurav Kumar (6½) defeated Shivay Singh (5½)
* Vipal Subhashi (6½) defeated Y.P. Srivastava (5½)
* Kishan Kumar (6½) defeated Aman Balana (5½)
* P.K. Singh (6½) defeated Arijit Ghosh (5½)
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