Sikkim players improve FIDE Rating after Gaya tourney

GANGTOK, 13 July: Sikkim Chess Association [SCA] players is back home after an impressive showing at the 1st Lord Buddha FIDE-Rated Below 2000 Chess Tournament held at Gaya in Bihar from 05 to 09 July. A six-member SCA team accompanied by the SCA general secretary, Mahendra Dhakal had represented the state in the tournament.
SCA team members stood among the top 50 in the tournament and also improved on their FIDE Rating. The tournament had more than 200 players from different states and Bangladesh.
The best performance came from Rakesh Gurung who stood on the 3rd position in the tournament and won cash prize of Rs 20,000. Thendup Tamang stood on the 6th position and bagged cash prize of Rs 6000, followed by Rahul Gurung on 29th position to win Rs 4000.
Similarly, Rohit Gurung managed to stand on the 32nd position to bag Rs 3500 and finally Sushmita Lama stood on the 41st position and won Rs 3000. The youngest team member 8-year-old Chetiz Rai held the 2nd position in the North East Best players.
Another four-member SCA team is now leaving on Sunday to participate in the 1st edition of Asom FIDE Rating Open Chess Tournament to be held from 15 to 20 July at Guwahati in Assam. The team members are Rakesh Gurung, Thendup Tamang, Rahul Gurung and Rohit Gurung. The team will be led by SCA general secretary and international arbiter, Mahendra Dhakal.