270 young players, every balcony full of watchers, and a grandmaster in the golden chair.
On 18 July, the atrium of Acropolis Mall in Kolkata held 270 young players at once, and our chief guest, GM Dibyendu Barua, was there to welcome them with a bouquet and a shawl. The boards ran in long columns down the middle of the floor, and from the balconies they filled the whole view. Along the railings on every level, families and passers-by looked down. More than 500 parents and siblings had come with the players.
GM Dibyendu Barua presenting a trophy at the prize ceremony.
Beside the stage we had set up a golden throne in front of the championship backdrop, with giant chess pieces on either side, as a photo corner for the families. The chief guest was among the first to sit in it.
This was the Kolkata round of the Prime Engage Jr. Chess Championship. Players were divided into four age categories, Under 8, Under 10, Under 12 and Under 16, and the winner of each category goes through to the zonal round. Every player received a medal and a digital certificate. Prize money of ₹29,000 for the city was shared among the top five players in each category, and all five received trophies.
Young players with their Too Yumm! goodies.
Master Madhav Mundhara won Under 8, with Master Anish Sarkar as runner-up. In Under 10 the champion was Master Aharnish Nanda, with Master Souraansh Sarkar second. Master Shivarshi Chakrabarti took Under 12, with Master Aurinjay Mukhopadhyay runner-up, and Master Soham Roy won Under 16 with Master Somiddho Rajbanshi as runner-up.
Trophies and hampers laid out for the winners.
Medals and Too Yumm! hampers were laid out at the prize table. Acropolis hosted the day as venue partner, with Radio City 91.1 FM, Portronics, YES Securities and Too Yumm! alongside us as partners.
More city reports from this season: Jabalpur, Kochi, Delhi, Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai, Gwalior, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kolhapur, Mysuru.
Photos and updates from every city are shared on Instagram at @chess_with_primeengage.
- prime engage junior chess championship
- kolkata
