Winner Indrajeet Mahindrakar with Bihar Education Minister Sunil Kumar and Sports Minister Shreyasi Singh
By A CorrespondentÂ
Patna: Indrajeet Mahindrakar of Maharashtra emerged as the winner of the Bihar Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament, jointly organised by the Bihar State Sports Authority, the State Sports Department and the All Bihar Chess Association, held at the Pataliputra Sports Complex in Kankarbagh, Patna. In the final round, Russian Grandmaster Petr Kiriakov agreed to a draw in just 13 moves on the top board following an early mistake, while Mahindrakar defeated West Bengal’s Parambrata Sarkar on the second board to surge ahead. The contest intensified further when Haryana’s Prithvi Sharma overcame Nepal champion Rupesh Jaiswal to join the leading group.
All three players—Kiriakov, Mahindrakar and Sharma—finished with eight points each. However, Mahindrakar was declared champion on tie-break, edging ahead by half a point. Kiriakov secured the runner-up position, while Prithvi Sharma finished as second runner-up.
At the prize distribution ceremony, Bihar’s Education Minister Sunil Kumar and Sports Minister Shreyasi Singh honoured the winners with trophies, certificates and cash awards.
Addressing the gathering, the Education Minister described chess as vital for intellectual development and advocated its inclusion in primary education, stating that a structured implementation plan would be pursued. The Sports Minister emphasised Bihar’s aim to maximise participation in the 2036 Olympic Games, urging greater grassroots involvement and development of athletes across the state.
Among those present were Director General of the Bihar State Sports Authority Raveendran Sankaran, All Bihar Chess Association President Diljeet Khanna and Secretary Dharmendra Kumar, Director Ravindra Nath Chaudhary, Deputy Director Himanshu Singh, Sikkim Chess Association Secretary Mahendra Dhakal, and former Sports Director Sanjay Kumar Sinha, along with several other dignitaries.
Top Prize Winners:
1. Indrajeet Mahindrakar (Maharashtra) – ₹1,00,000 + Trophy
2. Petr Kiriakov (Russia) – ₹60,000 + Trophy
3. Prithvi Sharma (Haryana) – ₹40,000 + Trophy
4. K.K. Chatterjee (West Bengal) – ₹30,000
5. Alekhya Mukhopadhyay (West Bengal) – ₹25,000
6. Sundaram Kumar (New Delhi) – ₹22,000
7. Ankit Das (West Bengal) – ₹20,000
8. Kishan Kumar (Bihar) – ₹18,000
9. Vivek Sharma (Bihar) – ₹16,000
10. Sameer Chaudhary (Delhi) – ₹14,000
Special Category Winners:
* Best Senior Player (60+): P.K. Singh (Bihar) – ₹10,000 + Trophy
* Best Woman Player: Mariam Fatima (Bihar) – ₹20,000 + Trophy
* Best Player (Rating 1800): Shivmohan Dwivedi (Uttar Pradesh) – ₹25,000 + Trophy
* Best Player (Rating 1600): Raima Bhattacharjee (West Bengal) – ₹25,000 + Trophy
* Best Unrated Player: Abhishek Raj (Bihar) – ₹25,000 + Trophy
* Best Bihar Player: Kumar Gaurav – ₹20,000 + Trophy
Age-Group Winners:
Under-15: Navneel Chatti (WB), Vedant Rajesh (Jharkhand), Prakhar Chaurasia (Bihar)
Under-13: Shivay Singh (UP), Debagnik Modak (WB), Aryojeet Bhowmik (WB)
Under-11: Devansh Keshari (Bihar), Aadvik Kumar (Bihar), Manas (Bihar)
Under-09: Aryan Kumar (Bihar), Shrestha Kiyan (Bihar), Manomay Mandal (WB)
Under-07:Rudra Pratap (Bihar), Arnav Kumar (Bihar), Krishna K (Bihar)
Girls’ Categories:
Under-15: Aishani Pathak (UP), Ishika Madke (Chhattisgarh), Srinika Ghosh (WB)
Under-13: Yakshini P (Tamil Nadu), Anika Yadav (Bihar), Arohi Sagar (Bihar)
Under-11: Deepanjali Srivastava (UP), Ankita Raj (Bihar), Aaradhya Prakash (Bihar)
Under-09: Vanshika Mahashwari (Bihar), Disha Kumari (Bihar), Avantika Chakraborty (Tripura)
Under-07: Aavya Srivastava (Bihar), Prerna Chaudhary (Bihar), Abhinav Avika (Bihar)
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