Niraj Saripalli finishes 8th; Cyrus 14th

Goa's Niraj Saripalli continued the state's
fine showing in the recent national events
by clinching the eighth spot in the National
Under 11 Chess Championships which
concluded in Kozhikode, Kerala.

In the tournament, Niraj had a bad start when
he lost to a low rated player in the second round
itself. Nevertheless, he kept his nerve and gradually
his position improved. In the last round, he beat the
fancied R. Eswar to finish in a five way tie for the
fourth place with 8 points. However, his poor tiebreak
score cost him dearly here and he finished on 8th
place which is a commendable performance.

Goa's Cyrus Perreira also followed closely with
7.5 points. He finished in the 14th spot which
is highly encouraging considering the fact that
he has one more year in this category.

Pranav Zantye finished 26th and Chinmay finished
38th. In the Girls Section, Vaishakhi Pilarnkar
finished 47th.