Badole Shaunak of Maharashtra and WCM Deekshitha Modipalli of Telangana emerged champions in the Open and Girls’ categories respectively, at the 38th National Under-13 Chess Championship 2025 at Daivadnya Bhavan, Margao.
In the Open Section, Shaunak Badole (2086) of Maharashtra managed to outwit Arush A (2105) of Kerala on the top board, to clinch the title by staying unbeaten throughout the tournament and notch up a tally of 10 points. He was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 80,000 and a grand trophy.
On the second board, Siddhanth Poonja (2215) of Karnataka got the better of Dharsh M (1944) of Tamil Nadu and finished runner-up with 9 points. He was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 60,000 and a trophy. CM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma (2187) of Madhya Pradesh managed to outplay CM Vyom Malhotra (1974) of Haryana to finish third with 8.5 points. He was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 48000 and a trophy. Siddhant Salunke (2050) of Maharashtra defeated Joshua Malvin (1966) of Puducherry to finish 4th with 8.5 points. He was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 35000 and a trophy. Shubh Atha (1881) of Gujarat defeated CM Advik Amit Agrawal (2175) of Maharashtra to finish 5th with 8.5 points. He was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 28000 and a trophy.
The 6th to 20th prize-winners in the open section are: Shaurya Chaudhary (Delhi), Samarth Sreeni Warrier (Gujarat), CM Aarit Kapil (Delhi), Aarav Saish Amonkar (Karnataka), Aarush Dolas (Maharashtra), Arush A (Kerala), Samuel Stephen Noble S (Andhra Pradesh), Parambrata Sarkar (West Bengal), Aryan Behera (Odisha), Adhiraj Mitra (Jharkhand), Ayaan Garg (Chandigarh), Pratyush Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Dharsh M (Tamil Nadu), Vivan Soni (Maharashtra), and Mayukh Majumder (West Bengal).
Among Goan participants, Joshua Mark Telles (1793) drew with higher-rated Mahir Taneja (2043) of Delhi to finish at 38th with 7.5 points. Maxwell Raposo (1806) drew with Balanandan Ayyappan (1949) of the State Chess Technical Committee to finish 60th with 7 points. Vihaan Tari (1698) got the better of Prabhav Atwal (1451) of Chandigarh to finish 83rd with 6.5 points. Rajveer Patil (1695) drew with Sreehari S Mecheril (1861) of Kerala to finish 84th with 6.5 points. Shubh Vishnu Borkar (1675) outplayed Ishaan Kandi (1881) of Telangana to finish 95th with 6.5 points.
In the Girls Section, on the top board, WCM Deekshitha Modipalli (1934) of Telangana drew with Arpita Patankar (1846) of Gujarat, and emerged champion in the Girls section with 9.5 points while remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 80,000 and a trophy. On the second board, Mysha Perwez (1815) of Maharashtra got the better of Maitreyi Mondal (1883) of West Bengal to finish 2nd with 9 points. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 60,000 and a trophy. Maitreyi Mondal of West Bengal finished 3rd with 8.5 points and was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 48000 and a trophy. On the third board, WCM Aamuktha Guntaka (2102) of Andhra Pradesh managed to outwit Sasi Hasini Chintala (1845) of Telangana to finish 4th with 8.5 points. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 35000 and a trophy. On the fourth board, Sravyasree Bheemarasetty (1978) of Andhra Pradesh managed to outplay Dishita Dey (1813) of Jharkhand to finish 5th with 8.5 points. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 28000 and a trophy.
The 6th to 20th prize-winners in the girls section are: WCM Sri Darshini T (Andhra Pradesh), WFM Saranya Devi Narahari (Telangana), Arpita Patankar (Gujarat), WCM Aaradhya Das (Tripura), Vanshika Rawat (Delhi), Charudharshini R (Tamil Nadu), Sasi Hasini Chintala (Telangana), Janaki S D (Kerala), Dishita Dey (Jharkhand), Krupha S Ukkali (Karnataka), Shreya Rajesh (Karnataka), WCM Hanya Shah (Gujarat), Indusheetala Natarajan (Karnataka), Siddhi Rao (Karnataka), and Dheekshika G (Tamil Nadu).
Among Goan participants, Asmi Amit Terse (1407) drew with a higher-rated Navieka Jaiswal (1714) of Jharkhand to finish 38th with 7 points. Skyla Rodrigues (1544) drew with Sayee Atreyi Mohapatra (1611) of Odisha to finish 52nd with 6.5 points. Diya Digamber Sawal (1586) got the better of Trishika Patnaik (1490) of Telangana to finish 55th with 6.5 points. Navya Narvekar (1429) outplayed Divyashree S (1528) of Tamil Nadu to finish 77th with 6 points. Lyia Marysil Silveira (1495) won against Selva Manasa S of Tamil Nadu to finish 81st with 6 points. The tournament witnessed a record participation of 597 players from across the country.
PWD Minister Digambar Kamat was the chief guest for the closing ceremony and gave away the prizes along with Ajit Verma, Chief of Operations of All India Chess Federation, and Ramakant Raikar, President of Daivadnya Samaj, Margao. Mahesh Candolkar, President of Goa Chess Association, Ashesh Keni, Secretary of Goa Chess Association, Vishwas Pilankar, Treasurer of Goa Chess Association, were also present among others.
