SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, April 3: Watering down on all expectations, international rating players fell like ninepins in the 13th Padmabai Rungta Chess Tournament Chaibasa, which concluded three days ago.
The tournament, organized by the West Singhbhum District Chess Association (WSDCA), included 20 international-rated players, of which Panigrahi Dibyakant was the highest-rated ( 1846) and Chiranjeet Sarkar ( 1406) was the lowest-rated.
As per official report announced by International Arbiter (IA) Jayant Bhuyan, who conducted the tournament, top ranked Panigrahi Dibyakant did not get berth even among top 15 prize winners.
Manish Sharma (1780 rating) who was 4th seeding in tournament became champion while Sayam Chakraborty (1672 rating) who had 6th seeding in tournament jumped on 2nd position with his outstanding position.
However, Rajesh Kumar (1843 rating), who was second ranking, had to contend with third position. Kamal Kishore Debnath (1743 rating) got fourth position, but Manideep Mukhee (1790 rating), who had third rank in the tournament, slipped to seventh position.
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Oldest player steals the show
The oldest players steal the show in the tournament.
Sixty-eight-year-old senior lawyer NN Pandey (1552 rating) was the 18th seed in the tournament and surprised the professional players who were senior in rating and junior in age on board. He got 5th position on the prize list.
Another veteran player, 64-year-old Dr S Saren (1490 rating) of Chakradharpur Rail Division, also made himself a top-15 prize winner through a superb display on board. He was given 14th seeding in the tournament and got 15th position with five points in seven rounds.
Star players missing
Chess lovers felt the absence of top-ranking players from Chakradharpur in the district’s three-day tournament. Amit Kumar Medda (2132 rating), Priyanka Kumari (1929 rating), and Biswajit Chatterjee (1887 rating) did not participate due to personal reasons. All three belong to Chakradharpur and are considered a dominant force in the state chess.
A chess lover of Chaibasa said their participation in the tournament would have made it competitive.
International arbiter Jayant Bhuyan said no player complained during the tournament.
