Niraj Saripalli won the All-Goa Rapid Chess Tournament organised by The Serials in association with the Centenary Chess Club; over two days at Centenary Hall, Baina, Vasco.
The event witnessed intense competition among 204 players from two federations, including 75 rated players; where in the decisive final round, top seed CM Niraj secured a victory against WCM Gunjal Chopdekar of Tiswadi.
Niraj had an impressive tally of 8 points to emerge champion and was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 8000 and a trophy. Kapil Pawse, who made a comeback after 8 years, claimed the first runner-up position with 8 points, earning a cash prize of Rs. 6000 and a trophy. Aryan Shamrao Raikar finished in third place with 7.5 points, winning a cash prize of Rs. 4000 and a trophy.
Anirudh Parsekar and Asmita Ray, of MTCA, secured the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, with 7.5 points. The players securing positions from 6th to 20th are as follows: WCM GunjalChopdekar, Vivaan Sunil Ballikar, SwayamNaik, Paarth P Salvi, KuncolienkarShivank, DmitryBezstrakhov, KanishkSagarSawant, Gaude Sachin, Ayush Sanjeev Naik, Chaitanya V Gaonkar, AtharvaSawal, HridayTukaramMorajkar, Tejas R ShetVerenkar, Ekka Aniket, and Vaz Edrick.
The tournament, under the directorship of Anish Naik, witnessed the participation of talented players from diverse age groups and categories. NA Ridikesh Vernekar served as the Chief Arbiter, with NA Sudhakar Patgar as the Deputy Chief Arbiter, ensuring fair play and adherence to regulations throughout the tournament.
The players in various age categories were awarded prizes for their outstanding performances: U15 Boys Prizes from 1st to 5th: GawasRohit, Vicente Fernandes, Atrey P Satardekar, Ayush Sandeep Naik and Sahil Prasad Naik. U15 Girls Prizes: Valanka Fernandes, Gawas Sani, Shourya Suraj Pednekar, Sayyed Mahdiya and Saisha Patekar. U13 Boys: Sarthak Surendra Kavlekar, Hawal Shreyash, Sahil Sachin Shetty, Chaitanya Sushant Patil and Mayank Kurtikar. U13 Girls: Rachel Pereira, Shriya Patil, Riddhi Sanjay Gaude, Sayyed Maizah, and Sequeira Jennica. U11 Boys: Erwin Albuquerque, Sairaj Narvenkar, Shubh Vishnu Borkar, Rajveer Patil, and Saras Summer Powar. U11 Girls: Diya Digamber Sawal, Lyia Marysil Silveira, Rochel Pereira, Jensina Sequeira, and Tanisha Uday Naik Dessai. U09 Boys: Vihaan Tari, Joshua Mark Telles, Gawas Rishit, Shaurya N Prabhu Agrasani and Aryan Naik. U09 Girls: Prizes from 1st to 5th are as follows: Muriel Shanessa Fernandes, Krutika Aggarwal, Avani Sawaikar, Redkar Shanvi and Keloskar Survi. U07 Boys:Prayank Gaonkar, Prabhu Dessai Narayan, Fernandes Skyler George, Evan Antonio Telles and Ronel Fernandes.; U07 Girls: Ghonge Drisha, Desai Saanvi, Shanaya Desai, Trisha Patekar and Ahi Fadte.
The tournament also honoured the best veteran player (above 40 years) with prizes awarded to Bhimappa Harijan, Kiran Shantaram Chopdekar, Narvekar P S, Prasad M Naik, and Prabhu Agrasani Narendra. Schaffer Viegas received the Youngest Player Award for their participation in the tournament. The Centenary Chess Club appreciation medals were presented to Vignesh Keluskar, Inyat Khan, Varuni Naik, Sahil Dicholkar, Dazzle Torres, Arohi Bhatkal, Ansh Gawas, and Aryan Halankar, recognising their commitment and enthusiasm.
The closing ceremony of the tournament was graced by IM Nitish Belurkar, Sachin Arolkar, Convenor of Goa Chess Ad-hoc Committee, Mukund Kambli (Secretary of MTCA), Pundalik Nayak (Treasurer- MTCA), Vishwas Naik (Director- Reema Transport), Ramesh Patil (HR of Colgate Company), and Rajiv Arondekar (President of Centenary Chess Club).
