Shivaji Park Gymkhana (SPG) and Satish Sabnis Foundation organised the 5th edition of 'Satish Sabnis Open Rapid Chess Championship' and it didn't disappoint one bit. Hansraj Damodar Trust has been supporting this event since the very beginning and like every year, this year showcased a lot of young talent and bright minds tried their best at the board.
Nubairshah Shaikh, Rakesh Kulkarni, Om Kharola and Sairaj Chittal were competing for the ultimate prize.
Nubairshah Shaikh edged the competition in the 9th round with eight points. He was awarded ₹21,000, the annual trophy and the 'Grandmaster' title for winning the competition.
Rakesh Kulkarni finished second with 7.5 points and was rewarded with ₹15,000 while third-placed Om Kharola finished with 7.5 points and Sairaj Chittal finished fourth. Both of them won ₹11,000 and ₹9,000 respectively.
The winners were felicitated by Indian professional field hockey player, Yuvraj Walmiki and former Indian cricketer Pravin Amre.
Over 290 people participated in this competition where competitors aged from 4 to 70 and the spirit to compete was nothing less than a 100 per cent.
A separate competition was held for the blind where Satish Baghule was the winner with 5 points and Sagar Mangurde finished as the runner-up.
Zone-5 Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Jain, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's General Secretary Sandip Deshpande, and senior journalist Prafulla Marpakwar were present at the inauguration of the tournament.
The annual event is held in the memory of Satish Sabnis, who organised the International Chess Championship in the city for the first time in 1984. A national level chess player himself, he was the president of the Maharashtra Chess Association and Vice President of the All India Chess Federation and manager for the Dubai – Chess Olympiad, which incidentally, was grandmaster Viswanathan Anand's first international chess tournament.
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