Mumbai lads Jaivardhan, Aryaveer win gold, silver medals for India

Mumbai boys Jaivardhan Raj and Aryaveer Agarwal clinched a gold and silver medal, respectively, in the 14th Asian Schools Chess Championship 2018, which concluded at the Citrus Hotel, Waskaduwa, Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Jaivardhan, a student of Jamnabai Narsee School, Juhu, won a gold medal in the boys’ under-7 rapid chess completion. He produced some consistent performances and finished with a commendable tally of 6.5 points out of 7 points to emerge as a champion. Jaivardhan, a very talented young chess player, had won the top honours in the boys’ under-7 category in the Maharshtra State Chess Championship last month.

Meanwhile, Aryaveer also enjoyed quite a successful outing and with a score of 5.5 points out 7, managed to snatch the silver medal in the boys’ under-7 blitz chess event. Aryaveer, a trainee from the South Mumbai Chess Academy and a second grade student at the Ecole Mondiale School, did well to force a draw with higher ranked and top-seed Tulendinov Dinmukhammed (Kazakhstan) in the final round. The half point earned, ensured Aryaveer finished tied for the second spot with four other players. However, Aryaveer with a better Buchholz tie-breaker score claimed the silver medal for India.

The performances of Jaivardhan, Aryaveer and the other Indian participants helped Team India win the team gold medal. A total of 450 players from 17 countries had participated in different events and age categories.