Karnataka bags 2 silver and a GM norm!

Karnataka players struck it rich in the
Commonwealth Chess Championships
which concluded in New Delhi with its
players bagging two silver medals and a
Grandmaster norm in the tournament.

In the Girls Under 14 section, Shristi Shetty
won the silver medal ahead of National Subjunior
Champion Shalmali Gagare of Maharashtra who had
incidentally just come back after bagging the bronze
in the World Youth Chess Championships in the
same section in Antalya, Turkey. Shristi's performance
is the first outstanding performance by a Karnataka lass
in a long time and we hope that she will build on it.

Last year's World Under 10 Boys Champion Girish Kaushik
finished second in the same section in the Commonwealth.
This is his second silver this year, the first coming in the
Asian Youth in Al Ain, U.A.E.

The best performance though was from none other than
M.S. Thejkumar who bagged a Grandmaster norm for his
efforts. This former National Under 25 Champion had incidentally
never made an IM Norm so this will really boost his morale. He also
finished 15th in the overall standings. All in all, it was a rich booty
for the Karnataka contingent and credit goes to Mr. Hanumantha and
his team in the UKCA for spurring on the players!