Chess Championship: Vinit Dhoot and Greeshma Dhumal win U-16 crowns

Vinit Dhoot and Greeshma Dhumal, with an identical tally of 7.5 points each, clinched the boys and girls under-16 crowns respectively in the Mahavir Prasad Morarka Memorial Maharashtra State Schools Chess Championship here Monday.

Top-ranked Vinit defeatedShubham Bandikatte to remain in pole position and emerge champion. Third-ranked Harsha Vartak and fifth-ranked Vihaan Shetty both won their final round matches and finished with 7 points each, but the former, with a better progressive score, was placed second.

Vihaan had to settle for the third position. In the Girls U-16 competition, eighth-ranked Greeshma Dhumal scored an easy win against second-ranked Archita Toraskar to hold on to her lead and win the title. Sixth-ranked Rajalakshmi Vishwanathan outsmarted Vedhika Ramanan to claim the second position, while number one rankedIsha Inamdar was held to a draw by lowlyShraddha Kadam and had to remain content with a third-place finish.

Top 3 winners: Girls U-6:1. Chaturthi Pardeshi (8 points), 2. Aarna Shah (7), 3. Swara Railkar (7). Girls U-8:1. Hiya Shah (9), 2. Nihira Koul (7), 3. Ojal Ambilwade (6,5). Girls U-10:1. Aanya Roy (7,5), 2. Rucha Dakare (7,5), 3. Aastha Turankar (6,5). Girls U-12:1. Vrisha Shah (8,5), 2. Kriti Patel (8), 3. Tanvi Borate (6). Girls U-14:1. Parnavi Rane (7,5), 2.Kiyarra Khaturia (7), 3. Saniya Tadavi (7). Girls U-16:1. Greeshma Dhumal (7,5), 2. Rajalakshmi Vishwanathan (6), 3. Isha Inamdar (5,5). Boys U-6:1 Viraj Rane (8), 2. Vedant Karthik (7,5), 3. Siddhant Bharti (7). Boys U-8:1. Kushagra Jain (8,5), 2. Aditya Patil (7,5), 3. Gaigore Sanskar (7). Boys U-10:1. Vedant Vekhande (8), 2. Aradhya Tikam (7,5), 3. Prathmesh Gawde (7). Boys U-12:1.Ritvik Krishnan (9), 2. Aditya Ramanathan (7,5), 3.Vyankatesh S Dande (7). Boys U-14:1. Rishi Kadam (8), 2.Rachit Lund (8), 3. Mihiir Sarvade (6,5). Boys U-16:1. Vinit Dhoot (7,5), 2. Harsh Vartak (7), 3. Vihaan Shetty (7).

(With inputs from agencies.)