Mumbai, 15 November: Veer Dhaval Shah and AIM Hriday Maniar won all seven of their games in the Under-9 Open and Under-17 Open sections as the SBI Life Maharashtra State Schools Chess Championship 2026 ended on Sunday at Rustomjee Cambridge International School in Dahisar (West).
The three-day event was organised by Indian Chess School and drew 387 players across six FIDE-rated categories: Under-9, Under-13 and Under-17, each in Open and Girls sections. It was the selection tournament for the National Schools Chess Championship in Ahmedabad from 16 to 20 December 2026, and the top two finishers in each category earned a place in Maharashtra’s team.
The prize fund was ₹60,000, with ₹10,000 set aside for each category. The top three in every category received SBI Life trophies, and those in fourth to tenth place received medals.
Under-9
In the Open section, Veer Dhaval Shah (1501) of Jamnabai Narsee School, JVPD, scored seven points from seven rounds. Ivaan Dubey (1545), who won the Under-7 Open title in the first stage, was second with six points, and Aarav Ravi Jhavar (1571) of Jamnabai Narsee School was third, also on six.
The Girls section ended in a three-way tie on six points. Lavanya Singh (1448) of Sanjivani International School took the title on tie-break, ahead of Ishi Singh (1538) of J. B. Petit High School for Girls and Nikita Sandeep (1411).
Under-13
In the Open section, Vihaan Anupam Agrawal (1858) of Narayana Olympiad School finished on six points from seven rounds. Top seed Nirvaan Nirav Shah (1956) of Don Bosco International School also scored six but was second on tie-break.
In the Girls section, Tisyaa Apurva Patt (1524) of Avalon Heights International School won with six points. Pranitha Bhava (1655) of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyalaya was second on 5.5.
Under-17
Top seed Hriday Maniar (1910) won every round in the Open section. Shaurya Ashish Modi (1626) finished second with 5.5 points, and Soham Sudarshan Sahamate (1667) was third, also on 5.5.
In the Girls section, top seed Drishya Naik (1713) scored 6.5 points from seven rounds, 1.5 points ahead of her nearest challengers.
Read the day-one report and more chess news.
