6-year-old Mumbai girl, Myrah bags silver in National Chess Championship

Myrah Sachdev a talented young chess player from the city clinched a creditable silver medal in the recently concluded National Schools Chess Championships 2019 at Aurangabad. Shashini Puvi from Karnataka won the gold medal.

The 6-year-old Myrah produced quite a few impressive victories but dropped crucial points in some close games. Myrah despite giving her best efforts had to settle for second best as she finished with a tally of 7.5 points out of possible nine. On the other hand, Shashini managed to claim the top honours with an aggregate score of 8 points, which ensured her of the gold.

Myrah will now officially represent India in the Asian & World Schools Chess Championships scheduled next year.

The second-place finish in Aurangabad appeared like a confirmation of Myrah’s steady progress in the game, given her title triumph at the state schools chess last month. The kid, who trains with SMCA, won the Under-6 title of the Maharashtra State Schools Chess Championship with a brilliant score of 6.5 points.

However, there was another piece of good news for the youngster as she has made it to the top rankings of the youngest rated chess players across the globe. As per the latest players rating released by the world chess federation — FIDE, Huang Ruixuan of China is at the top spot with an ELO rating of 1410 points followed by Arisha Hossain Tuba of Bangladesh at second. Fellow Indian Jahnvi Gore from Pune was placed third. Myrah’s ranking is a creditable one considering her rise in the last calendar year.

The two developments naturally put her family over the moon. “I credit her performance and this historic moment to coach Veeresh Tammireddy of SMCA who has been preparing Myrah with rigorous training for this big day,” Myrah’s mother Ritu said.

Renowned coach from the city FIDE Master Balaji Guttula too hailed the kid’s show. “Myrah’s victory is a historic one as winning silver in National schools event is no mean a feat considering you have the best junior players participating across the country,” Balaji said while congratulating the Sachdev family for the double delight.