Samarth J Rao wins Tata Steel 4th All India FIDE Rated Chess Championship for Specially Abled players

by Himank Ghosh - 27/07/2024

Samarth J Rao (1770, KAR) won the Tata Steel 4th All India FIDE Rating Specially abled Chess Championship in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand! Samarth scored 7.5/9 points to clinch first place in the tournament. Venkata Krishna (1889, AP) also scored 7.5/9 points, but was placed second on tiebreaks. Yesu Babu K (1590, AP) secured 3rd place, scoring 7/9 points. The winner, Samarth, received Rs. 25000! Venkata and Yesu Babu received Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 15,000 each. The top 3 position holders of Open and Women's category received ChessBase 17! The top 3 finishers in all the other categories received 1 year of ChessBase Premium Account membership. Read a detailed account of the last few rounds and the closing ceremony of this very special event. All Photos are by Himank Ghosh unless stated otherwise.

Champions crowned at the Tata Steel 4th All India FIDE Rated Specially abled Chess Championship 2024

Tata Steel Ltd. and Tata Steel Foundation are organizing the 4th All India FIDE Rated Chess tournament for specially abled Chess player in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand from 24th-28th June 2024. After 9 rounds of play, Samarth J Rao (1770, KAR) won the tournament in the Open LOCO D&D Category , scoring 7.5/9 points!

Samarth J Rao (1770, KAR) receives the first prize - a beautiful trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 25000!

Samarth lost a tough game in the penultimate round against Venkata Krishna. But he came back strong and took down Suresh Agrawal (1558, TN) in the final round, winning the tournament with 7.5/9 points! FM Venkata Krishna Karthik K (1889, AP) finished strong with two consecutive wins in the last two rounds, and secured 2nd place scoring 7.5/9 points.

Venkata Krishna Karthik K (1889, AP) became the runner-up - he scored 7.5/9 points, and won Rs. 20.000!

The top seed of the tournament, Naveen Kumar A (1986, AP) finished 3rd in the Open LOCO D&D category, scoring 6.5/9 points. After two rough losses in the 6th and 7th rounds, Naveen finished strong with two consecutive wins in the last two rounds of the tournament.

Naveen Kumar A (1986, AP) bagged the 3rd prize - winning Rs. 15,000!

Yesu Babu K (1590, AP) took first place in the Wheelchair category, scoring 7/9 points! He won Rs. 20,000.

Shankar Ramakrishnan (1560, TN) took first place took second place in the Wheelchair category, scoring 6.5/9 points! He won Rs. 15,000.

Aditya Asaram Ghule (1472, MAH) took 3rd place in the Wheelchair category, scoring 6/9 points! He won Rs. 10,000.

Sharon Rachel Aby (1515, TN) bagged the best women prize, scoring 5.5/9 points! She won Rs. 10,000.

Neha Verma (DEL) bagged the 2nd prize in women, scoring 5.5/9 points! She won Rs. 7500.

Kanishri RP (1487, DEL) stood 3rd in women, scoring 5/9 points! She won Rs. 5000.

A group photo of all the medal winners and prize holders!

The top 3 players of the Open category and Women's category received ChessBase 17. The top 3 players of all the other categories received 1 year of ChessBase Premium Account along with their main prizes!

The complete prize-list of the tournament.

Check out our description of the last few rounds of the tournament:

Round 6:

After 6 rounds of play, Samarth J Rao (1770, KAR) took the sole lead in the Tata Steel 4th All India Specially-abled Chess Championship 2024! Samarth defeated the top seed Naveen Kumar A (1986, AP) with the Black pieces in the top board. On the other hand, Nabhneel Das (1520, UP) held the second seed Venkata Krishna Karthik K (1889) to a draw with the Black pieces!

Samarth and Naveen's intense top board encounter.

The players and their helpers in full focus

The inaugural move of the round being made

The Deputy Chief Arbiter of the tournament - Angappan A

Check out more photos from Round 6

Round 7:

Samarth J Rao (1770, KAR) emerges as the sole leader with two rounds to go at the Tata Steel 4th All India Specially-abled Chess Championship 2024! Samarth scored two powerful wins today - he took down the top seed Naveen Kumar in the 6th round, and defeated Vaibhav Gautam in the 7th. Samarth has 6.5/7 points now - a full point ahead of the field. Nabhneel Das, Venkata Krishna, Kannan V and Aditya Asaram Ghule are chasing him with 5.5/7 points.

Two best friends - Vaibhav Gautam and Samarth Rao gave a smile before the round begins!

Venkata Krishna Karthik K completely focused before the round!

Nabhneel Das up against Aditya Asaram Ghule!

Catching a little sleep before the game, while your opponent looks at the Camera!

Check out more photos from Round 7

Photos from Round 8 and 9

Samarth J Rao and his father before the penultimate 8th round!

The top board battle between Samarth and Venkata in the 8th round

Sharon Rachel Aby gives a nice smile before the penultimate round

Vaibhav Gautam (1590, DEL) with his mother, who helps him during his games.

The intense atmosphere during the final round!

Samarth J Rao and his helper during the final round

Venkata Krishna en route his final round game against Kannan V.

The packed hall at Beldih Club for the prize distribution ceremony - full of guests from Tata Steel, players, parents, officials..

The complete Tata Steel Team and the officials involved in the tournament.

For more photos, check out our dedicated Facebook album

Video gallery

Chess Federation for Physically Disabled announces Health Insurance! | IA Anandh Babu VL | Video: ChessBase India

He's specially abled - he's a Chess Arbiter, player, trainer and Organizer! | FA Angappan A | Video: ChessBase India

The Battle of two bravehearts | Samarth J Rao vs Naveen Kumar A | Tata Steel Specially Abled Chess | Video: ChessBase India

Nowhere to run, Nowhere to hide | Venkata Krishna vs Vaibhav Gautam | 4th Specially abled Chess | Video: ChessBase India

Check out our complete YouTube playlist

Check out all the games from Round 6-9

Final tournament standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5
1	3	CM	Samarth J Rao	IND	1770	Karnataka	7,5	48,5	52	42,00	7
2	2	FM	Venkata Krishna Karthik K	IND	1889	Andhra Pradesh	7,5	48	51	42,25	6
3	6		Yesu Babu k	IND	1590	Andhra Pradesh	7	44	47,5	34,50	6
4	1		Naveen Kumar A.	IND	1986	Andhra Pradesh	6,5	49	52,5	34,75	6
5	7		Kannan.V	IND	1568	Tamil Nadu	6,5	44,5	47,5	29,75	6
6	8		Shankar Ramakrishnan	IND	1560	Tamil Nadu	6,5	43	46,5	32,25	6
7	9	ACM	Suresh Agarwal	IND	1558	Tamil Nadu	6	47	51	30,00	6
8	22		Aditya Asaram Ghule	IND	1472	Maharashtra	6	42,5	44,5	27,00	5
9	10		Uday Kumar Tummagunta	IND	1544	Andhra Pradesh	6	41	44	28,00	4
10	31		Putta Chittibabu	IND	1424	Andhra Pradesh	6	40	44	27,50	6
11	11		Murahari A H	IND	1542	Tamil Nadu	6	39,5	43	29,00	5
12	25		Senthilmurugan N	IND	1471	Tamil Nadu	6	38,5	42,5	27,00	6
13	27		Jinay Ankitbhai Shah	IND	1466	Gujarat	6	36	38,5	24,75	5
14	15		Nabhneel Das	IND	1520	Uttar Pradesh	5,5	49,5	54	31,25	4
15	4		Pamarthi Audietya Aazadh	IND	1663	Telangana	5,5	46,5	49,5	27,25	4
16	16		Sharon Rachel Aby	IND	1515	Tamil Nadu	5,5	44,5	48,5	28,25	4
17	19		Thamaraiselvan K	IND	1507	Tamil Nadu	5,5	43,5	46,5	24,00	4
18	13		Prakash Banskar	IND	1536	Madhya Pradesh	5,5	43	47	28,25	4
19	41		Ezhilarasi G	IND	0	Karnataka	5,5	37	40,5	20,75	5
20	55		Pratham poddar	IND	0	West Bengal	5,5	37	39,5	21,50	4

Details

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