Saras Summer Powar and unbeaten Saeeja Gunesh Dessai emerged the champions in the Open and Girls categories respectively at the Goa State Selection U-15 Open & Girls FIDE Rating Chess Championship 2026 organised by Salcete Taluka Chess Association and B.P.S. Sports Club in Margao.
In the final round of the Open Category, on the top board Aaryavrat Rasiket Naik Desai (1759) of Canacona held the top seed Joshua Mark Telles (1975) of Salcete to a draw. On the 2nd board, Saras Summer Powar (1802) of Salcete got the better of Rishit Gawas (1746) of Mormugao and emerged the champion of the tournament with 7.5 points. He was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 4000 and a trophy.
Joshua Mark Telles finished second with 7 points and he was awarded a cash prize of Rs 3000 and trophy. Aarav Chopdekar (1686) of Mormugao managed to outwit Vihaan Tari (1711) of Tiswadi on the 4th board to finish 3rd and was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 2500 and trophy. On the 5th board, Satyam Phal (1694) of Salcete defeated Nathan Jess Cardozo (1692) of Salcete and finished 4th with 7 points. He was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 2000 and trophy.
In the final round of the Girls Category, Saeeja Dessai (1650) of Salcete got the better of Avani Sawaikar (1455) of Ponda on the top board to emerge the champion by staying unbeaten throughout the tournament with 8.5 points. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 4000 and trophy. On the 2nd board, Asmi Amol Terse (1522) of Salcete defeated Shinel Rodrigues (1472) of Salcete to finish 2nd with 7.5 points. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 3000 and trophy. On the 3rd board, Vaishnavi Vijay Parab (1632) of Pernem drew with Anvi Abhay Desai (1448) of Canacona to finish 3rd with 6 points. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 2500 and trophy. Jennica Sequeira (1490) of Salcete drew with Shrivalli Sanjay Gandhi (1413) of Tiswadi to finish 4th with 6 points. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 2000 and trophy.
The 5th to 10th prize in Open Category are as follows: Shubh Vishnu Borkar, Aaryavrat Rasiket Naik Desai, Sai Prabhakaran R, Rajveer Patil, Rhys Dominic Carvalho, and Vihaan Tari.
Age-group prize-winners (Goa boys) are as follows – U13: Arthav Shirodker (Mormugao), U11: Rishit Gawas (Mormugao), U9: Prayank Gaonkar (Salcete), U7: Ivaan Alkesh Pednekar (Mormugao); Salcete boys – U13: Nathan Jess Cardozo, U11: Aryan Naik, U9: Joash Cardozo, U7: Vivaan Kadam.
The 5th to 10th prize in Girls Category, are as follows: Shrivalli Sanjay Gandhi, Anvi Abhay Desai, Krutika Aggarwal, Lyia Marysil Silveira, Avani Sawaikar and Israa Rikarty.
Age-group prize-winners (Goa girls) are as follows – U13: Skyla Rodrigues (Salcete), U11: Shinel Rodrigues (Salcete), U9: Shreesha Sushant Ghadi (Mormugao), U07: Eliaza Phacelia Barreto (Salcete). Salcete girls – U13: Aaradhya Balkrishna Sawant, U11: Janelly Franshella Vaz, U09: Neearra Rizel Rocha.
Digambar Kamat, Minister of Captain of Ports, Legal Metrology and Public Works; was the chief guest and gave away the prizes in the presence of Ashesh Keni, Secretary of Goa Chess Association and the Chief Arbiter of the tournament, Santosh George, Vice President of B.P.S. Sports Club, Margao, Damodar Zambulikar, Vice President of Goa Chess Association, Bhagwathi Bhat, and Satyawan Harmalkar, Vice President of Goa Chess Association.
This happens to be the first time the Under-15 Selections was a Fide-Rated tournament with 110 participants in the Open Category and 53 participants in the Girls Category. The top 4 players in both Open and Girls Section will represent Goa at the Nationals to be held in Punjab.
The prizes in the Open Section were sponsored by Bhagwathi Bhat in the memory of her mother Late Ratna M Bhat while prizes in the Girls Section were sponsored by Ashesh Keni in the memory of his mother Late Sharadini R Keni. The tournament was successfully completed due to the smooth handling by the Arbiters Team consisting of Chief Arbiter IA Ashesh Keni, Deputy Chief Arbiter IA Jostna Saripalli, Arbiter FA Ridikesh Dilip Vernekar, Arbiter NA Sanjiv Mesta, and Arbiter Abhishesh Prabhu Desai.
