National Under – 07 2017: Shashank and Swarali triumph

The 31st edition of the National U07 Open & Girls Championship was held at the Andhra Motor Merchants Association Hall in Vijayawada under the aegis of Andhra Pradesh State Chess Association. The tournament was an 11-player Swiss league with the Open category having 192 players and the girls’ category having 125 players.

Tamil Nadu’s Shashank VS  secured first place in the Open Championship by scoring 9.5 out of 11 rounds. He had started the tournament as the 19th seeded player. With only one draw and one loss, he ended his campaign with nine victories. notably defeating the tournament leader Lakshyesh Mohan Gupta in the final round to take home the trophy.

Four players with 9 points were tied for the second place, Madhya Pradesh’s Lakshyesh Mohan Gupta settled for the second spot with a better tiebreak score. Followed by Mrinmoy Rajkhowa of Assam at the third spot.

In the Girls’ Championship, Hatvalne Swarali bagged the Champions’ trophy with 9.5 points. She drew the final round against Saara Jain (JAR) to seize the first place. Meanwhile, Shreya G Hipparagi finished second with 9 points. Remarkably, these two Maharastiran girls are unrated, they have secured top two spots in a field of 125 players. Arshiya Das of Tripura settled for third place by scoring 8.5 points.

Click Here for Open Final Standings

Click Here for Girls Final Standings