Young talent impresses at SDF Bhawan chess tourney

TSHERING EDEN
GANGTOK, 26 Feb: The 3rd Open Chess Tournament organised by the Sikkim Democratic Front Bhawan Trust, which began on 21 February with 108 participants concluded with the prize distribution ceremony yesterday. Minister, Human Resource Development and Sports & Youth Affairs, NK Pradhan, was present as the chief guest accompanied by Tourism Minister, Bhim Dhungel, as the special guest.

15-year-old Mahasweta Kumar [Assam state and North East champion], from Assam lifted the champion’s trophy along with the cash prize of Rs 20,000 while the second and third positions with cash prizes of Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 went to Rupesh Jaiswal [ranked12th in World U-13] and Surendra Subba respectively.
Apart from the three winners, among the top-10 players of the tournament were Susmita Lama [fourth], Manish Gupta [fifth], BP Pradhan [sixth], Ratnakar Sarkar [seventh], Manoj Joshi [eighth], Rakesh Gurung [ninth] and MK Giri [tenth].
It is worth mentioning here that Rakesh Gurung, aged 13, is the youngest amongst the top-ten of the tournament. He is a student of class VIII at Tadong government school and spends about an hour everyday playing chess.
Rima Miz, around 10 years old, originally hailing from Siliguri has not had the opportunity to attend school but is passionate about the game. Despite what many might consider a drawback, she emerged victorious in the Under-11 Girls’ category claiming the first position, which is proof enough of her interest and skill in the game.
The RMDD Minister, CB Karki, who is an SDF Bhawan Trust member, in his address, said that the motive behind organising the tournament was to bring chess enthusiasts together and to encourage the game in the state.
He appealed to the HRD Minister to make chess-boards available in every government school in the state to encourage participation at the school level.
The chief guest, in turn, assured every possible help stressing that a proper project should be prepared for the purpose and submitted to the department for follow-up.
The programme concluded with a vote of thanks by SDF Bhawan Trust member, Kavita Subba, who thanked the Sikkim Chess Association for technical support, media partners – Samay Dainik and Radio Misty, all guests and participants.