CHENNAI : K Gokulraj of Velammal MHSS, with 7.5 points, won the 11th Modern School FIDE rating chess championship. In the eighth and final round, the overnight leader was held to a draw by top seed Dhanush Raghav of Dindigul in a marathon game which lasted 66 moves. Gokulraj secured the half point needed for the title. Kishore Kumar and Ratna Sabapathy drew their game on the second board in 49 moves.
Sabapathy, Dhanush, Ragul Saro and Aaditya finished on seven points each to finish second to fifth, respectively. Vigensh B, Vignesh N, Kishore Kumar, Dharani Kumar MS, Mithilesh Krishnan B, and Gokula Vishnu MS scored 6.5 points each and were placed sixth to 11th on tie-break. Gokulraj received a cash prize of `25,000 with a trophy. Sabapathy was richer by `18,000. Grandmaster N Srinath was the chief guest and he gave away the prizes.
Final standings
1. K Gokul Raj (Velammal MHSS, 7.5 pts) 2. Rathina Sabapathy (Velammal, 7) 3. Dhanush Ragav (Akshaya Academy, 7) 4. Raghul Saro S (Jeevavelu International School, 7) 5. Aaditya R (Gaut Boys HSS, 6.5) 6. Vigensh B (Vels Vidyashram, 6.5) 7. Vignesh N (Modern School, 6.5) 8. Kishore Kumar (Kamaraj Matric HSS, 6.5) 9. Dharani Kumar MS (Chettinad Vidyasram, 6.5) 10. Mithilesh Krishnan B (Sita Kingston, 6.5) 11. Gokul Vishnu R (Velankannai Mat HSS, 6.5).
Mahesh guides FSCA
Riding on S Mahesh’s knock of 53, FSCA thrashed WABCO India RC by 126 runs in a second division match of the TNCA Thiruvallur DCA league.
Brief scores
Division II: FSCA 221/9 in 30 ovs (S Mahesh 53, Rishab Sudhir 30, S Mari Muthu 47, Kailash Choudhary 31, LM Saravana Sundar 3/48) bt WABCO India RC 95/9 in 30 ovs (M Chandra Sekar 28, AS Surya Prakash 29, A Sumesh 3/14).
Vaigopalsamy shines for Lucas
Medium-pacer M Vaigopalsamy’s five-wicket haul helped Lucas TVS beat Delphi TVS by seven wickets in the 15th Lucas TVS Thiruvallur
DCA Trophy
Group A: Delphi TVS 71 in 18.3 ovs (V Gopalakrishnan 37, M Vaigopalsamy 5/23)
lost to Lucas TVS 72/3 in 16 ovs (R Madhan Mohan 31 n.o)