The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Sriram has the last laugh

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004

Sport

Sport - Chess

Sriram has the last laugh

By Our Sports Reporter

HYDERABAD, JUNE 15. Sriram Jha of Life Insurance Corporation emerged champion by virtue of better progressive score after tying with six others on eight points in the Maganti Ravindranath Choudhary All-India FIDE-rated open chess tournament at the Gujarathi Seva Mandal here today.

With a quick 10-move draw against local hero and IM P.D.S. Girinath in the final round game, Sriram claimed his first title of the year. The second-seeded Delhi-based player expected to do well here and was helped by the fact that the top seed and India's first Woman Grandmaster S. Vijayalakshmi had a disappointing time and finished 10th. The 27-year-old Sriram took home a prize of Rs. 30,000.

Vijayalakshmi said that she was experimenting with some novelties ahead of the National `B' since this event was essentially a run-up to the Vijayawada Nationals.

"The fact that I tried out new lines of attack in eight rounds was proof of this," she told The Hindu.

There was something to cheer about for the organisers as Andhra's J. Ramakrishna came second and collected Rs. 20,000 while the city-based Girinath was third and won a cash prize of Rs. 10,000.

Final placings: 1. Sriram Jha (LIC) 8 points, 2. J. Ramakrishna (AP) 8, 3. P.D.S. Girinath (SCR) 8, 4. Soumya Ranjan Mishra 8, 5. P. Praveen Prasad (AP) 8, 6. R. Balasubrahmaniam 8, 7. S. Amitpal Singh (Hyderabad) 8, 9. Eesha Karvade 7.5 and 10. S. Vijayalakshmi (IA) 7.5.

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