Yash Maharaj added another national chess title to his name, this time taking out the open title during the National Rapid Chess Championship at The University of Fiji Saweni Campus in Lautoka last weekend.
The event was sponsored by PAHO Eco-Industries. A final year student at the University of the South Pacific, Maharaj has been a standout player this season, winning the Fiji Chess Federation Standard Open early this month and his maiden Rapid Chess Championship title in April.
The 20-year-old piled an unbeaten 8.5/9 to nudge the title away from top-seed Candidate Master (CM) Manoj Kumar who finished second overall with 8/9.
Ex-Olympiad rep and Nadi-based businessman Prashil Prakash came third with a patient score of 7/9, while Joseph Sharma and Ravikesh Prasad secured the fourth and fifth positions at 6/9.
The women’s title was won by Luisa Corpuz who had a solid 5/9, and Latileta Masau of Dudley Intermediate School clinched the second position with 4/9. Pritha Ram of Korovuto College came third at 3/9.
“Fiji Chess Federation is glad to see upcoming players like Yash Maharaj, Rudr Prasad, Cydel Terubea and Luisa Corpuz win all championships in 2023,” Fiji Chess Federation general secretary Goru Arvind said.
The Secondary School’s Division was won by Yifan Xing of Swami Vivekananda College over Arnav Lal of Jai Narayan College who had an equal score of 5.5/9, but a lower tie-break for second place.
The next three positions were secured by Krish Singh and Jordan Taake of Swami Vivekananda College, and Raj Johan Pillay of Sangam Sadhu Kuppuswamy Memorial College of Nadi, with the trio scoring 5/9 each.
The Primary School’s Division was conquered by Paul Corpuz of Lautoka Zhong Hua Primary School with a solid score of 6/9, while Lionel Vaurasi of Yat Sen Primary School tallied closely for second place with 5.5/9.
Yajas Sharma of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Primary School came third with 5/9, and Yash Prasad of Deenbandhoo Memorial School secured fourth place at 4/9.
In other special awards, Jordan Taake of Swami Vivekananda College bagged the Best Beginner Award – Male for scoring 5/9 in his maiden tournament, followed by Kate Jing of Lautoka Central Primary School securing the Best Beginner Award – Female for tallying 3 solid points in her debut.
Tournament Arbiters CM Taione Sikivou and Dr Komal Prasad awarded Ilaisa Senikuba of Drasa Avenue Primary School a Lucky Draw Prize from the list of players who registered online for the event.
The next tournament this month will be announced via the official Fiji Chess Federation Facebook page in due course.
