Pune, April 5: The National Chess Tournament ‘Sava Herbals 15th AICFB National Chess Championship for Visually Challenged’, one of the largest chess competitions for the visually impaired in the country, was inaugurated today at PYC Hindu Gymkhana by Maharashtra Cricket Association President Vikas Kakatkar, Rotary District 313 PYC Hindu Gymkhana President Kumar Tamhane.
Vinayak Pethe, President of Rotary Club of Pune Heritage, Dr. Manish Thul, General Secretary of All India Chess Federation for the Blind, Dronacharya Award winning chess coach Raghunandan Gokhale, Chief Executive Officer of Sava Healthcare Dinesh Kapoor, Shiv Chhatrapati Award winner Chandrasekhar Gokhale, 2 times Shiv Chhatrapati Award winner Jayant Gokhale, the youngest Grand Master of Pune Abhimanyu Puranik and Kedar Godbole of Rotary Club of Pune Heritage were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Kakatkar lauded the efforts of PYC Hindu Gymkhana to promote various sports. Raghunandan Gokhale also emphasized the importance of fitness in sports like chess. Rotary Club of Pune Heritage President Vinayak Pethe made the presentation and Kar Avinash Ogle conducted the program. The competition will start till next 9th.
55 players from four zones( West Zone 21 players, South Zone 17Players.East Zone 10players and North zone 7 players) qualified from four different zones , The tournament will select Indian teams for the Asian and World Championships in China, Macedonia and France.
Today, many chess lovers from Pune had gathered to watch the matches. This included the young Grandmaster of Pune, Abhimanyu Puranik. Chess is the only game where the blind player can play without compromising the standard rule of sighted. Only their folds are different. The competition is in full swing as the men’s, women’s and junior players are going to be selected for the three major events – the Para Asian Games in China in October, the World Team Championships in Macedonia and the World Junior and women Championships in France.
National Woman Blind Champion Vaishali Salavkar fought hard against six times Champion Kishan Gangoli from the Black side of King’s Indian Defense but Kishan won the hard fought battle in 38 moves. Olympiad top board medalist Aryan Joshi tricked A.R.Ramesha in the London Opening to join Darpan and Kishan(Karnataka) at the top.
Playing with Black pieces in Sicilian Alapin Opening, top seeded Darpan Inani set up a beautiful trap in which Chirantan fell headlong and lost a piece after which Chirantan sportingly resigned the game in 12 moves.
Megha Chakravorty of WB fought hard to hold former International Swapnil Shah (Maharashtra) even though Swapnil was ahead by a pawn. The matches were witnessed by many sports enthusiasts from Pune city at PYC Hindu Gymkhana. Grandmaster Abhimanyu Puranik was thrilled to watch the blind players playing so well.
The matches will be played in rounds till Saturday.
How to Read the Results : 1-0 Means White wins, 0-1 Means Black wins, 1/2 Means Draw
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Inauguration photo 2 – Avinash Ogle of Rotary Club of Pune Heritage from left, Pankaj Shah, Governor of Rotary District 3131, Vikas Kakatkar, President of Maharashtra Cricket Association, Vinayak Pethe, President of Rotary Club of Pune Heritage, Dr. Manish Thul, General Secretary of All India Chess Federation for the Blind and Kumar Tamhane, President of Hindu Gymkhana. Darpan Inani (chess player from Gujarat) and Vaishali Salvakar (chess player from Maharashtra) are also seen in the photo.
Opening photo – From left, Dinesh Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer of Sava Healthcare, Pankaj Shah, Governor of Rotary District 3131, Vikas Kakatkar, President of Maharashtra Cricket Association, Vinayak Pethe, President of Rotary Club of Pune Heritage, Dr. Manish Thul Gymkhana President Kumar Tamhane.