Vijayalakshmi Starts With A Victory
By Arvind Aaron
Third seed and former champion Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman started her campaign in the 41st National Women’s Chess Championship with an opening round victory over Nimmy George of Kerala.
The opening round on October 25 witnessed three decisive games among the six played. Top two seeds, Mary Ann Gomes and Padmini Rout were held to draws. Besides Vijayalakshmi, the other two winners were Lakshmi Praneetha and Bhakti Kulkarni.
The 41st edition of the National Women’s Premier is organised by the Nutan Buddhibal Mandal, Sangli, Maharashtra. This edition is a 12-player single all-play-all at The Ambassador Hotel in Sangli. The chief arbiter is L.R. Bhuvanaa, International Arbiter. Rounds begin from 2 p.m. each day and the last round on November 5 will be in the morning.
The results (round one): V Varshini (TN) lost to K Lakshmi Praneetha (AP); Mary Ann Gomes (WB) drew with Nisha Mohota (WB); Swati Ghate (Mah) drew with B Pratyusha (Tel); Padmini Rout (Odi) drew with Ivana Furtado (Goa); S Vijayalakshmi (TN) bt Nimmy George (Ker); Bhakti Kulkarni (Goa) bt Hinduja Reddy (AP).

Senior National Arbiter (SNA) Seminar & Exam on October 24 & 25, 2026, at the Rotary Club, The Mall, Shimla.
Western Asian Junior/ Girls Chess Championship – 2026 from 22nd to 31st October 2026 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Western Asian Youth Chess Championships – 2026 in Ahmedabad ,Gujarat from 22-31 October 2026
Certificate of National Under 11 Chess Championship 2026 in Mangaluru from 02-08 August 2026
Fide Trainer Seminar in Mohali from 02-04 October 2026
SNA Seminar & Exam at Amity University, Near Chandigarh Airport, Airport Road, Mohali, Punjab on 03 & 04 October 2026.