Lucknow: Saurabh Anand of Bihar proved his supremacy, winning the 4th Dr KL Garg Memorial International Rating Chess Championship, at the KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium here today.

In the ninth and final round of event, Saurabh beat Rishabh Nishad of Uttar Pradesh to accumulate a total 8.5 points.

UP’s Nasir Ali Syed finished second with eight points, defeating his state mate Swapnil Raj in the final round.

Manish Uniyal of Delhi stood third with seven points. He settled for a draw with his opponent Bihar’s Rupesh Ranjan in his final encounter. Joining him at the third spot was UP’s Viresh Chaturvedi (7 pts), who also settled for a draw with his state mate Sumit Kumar Jha.

Saurabh Anand was elated on his win. “I am excited on my victory. It’s feel good, though I would have scored more points, in chess you never know what will happen next, nevertheless, I will surely work on that”.

At the concluding ceremony, chief guest Dr Sanjay Kapoor, president, UP Chess Sports Association congratulated the winners and awarded them prize worth Rs. 1,15,000. Others, who graced the occasion include, AK Raizada, secretary UP Chess Sports Association and Sayeed Ahmad, Administrator of the tournament.
 

Dr. Sanjay Kapoor while encouraging the participants, said that with the success of the tournament Lucknow has made its identity not only in the state but also in the nation.

“Lucknow has thus created a new platform for budding chess players where they can challenge their wits against each other. UP Chess Sports Association will always be the inclined recognize the talents of chess players and in future we will hold championships on a bigger scale” said Kapoor.

Leader board:

Saurabh Anand, (8.5 Points), Nasir Ali Syed, (8 Points), Manish Uniyal, Chaturvedi Viresh, Upadhyay Rahul,

Pradip Tiwari, Kumar Gaurav, Rupesh Ranjan, Shubham Lakudkar, Negi D.S. (All 7 points).