Aravindh Chithambaram takes National crown

After finishing second-best for the last two years, Aravindh Chithambaram broke the jinx and emerged as the National chess champion in Jammu recently.

Aravindh ended his unbeaten campaign with 10 points in the 13-round contest after a nervous 35-move draw against C. R. G. Krishna. In fact, a minimum draw was what the Tamil Nadu youngster needed to ensure the top prize of ₹5 lakh.

Krishna finished runner-up after topping a three-way tie at 9.5 points. Srijit Paul, who stunned Vaibhav Suri, was third while comeback-man M. R. Venkatesh came fourth after scoring 5.5 points from the last six rounds.

Aravindh, the shy boy who lets his moves over the board do the talking, appeared more relieved than happy after ensuring the title. “This title means a lot to me. After all, this is the only time the winner can say, he is the National champion. After missing the title so narrowly the last two times, when I was leading almost throughout, I really wanted to win this time,” said the ONGC employee.

Two late blunders from G. A. Stany saw Venkatesh win their game in 57 moves. As a result of this second straight loss, Stany finished 10th after being among the leaders after 11 rounds.