Ns Liyaa Krishnan Annexes the National Under-7 Girls Title
Rudra Pratap of Bihar won the title in Open Group while Ns. Liyaa Krishnan of Maharashtra has annexed the Title of 39th National Under-7 Open & Girls Chess Championships 2026 which concluded on 4th July 2026 at GH Raisoni Institute of Engineering & Technology (GHRIET), Shraddha Park, Wadi-Hingna Link Road, MIDC, Nagpur. The event was organized by the Maharashtra Chess Association (MCA) & Chess Association Nagpur (CAN) in association with G.H. Raisoni Sports and Cultural Foundation under the aegis of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) supported by Cosmos Co-operative Bank Ltd.
It was an exciting finish in the Open Group where the overnight leader Rudra Pratap was toppled by Nimalan Dharanipathy of Karnataka on the Top Board in the last round. On the second Board, Aksh Shrivastava of Maharashtra won against Joshua Magnus Katarapu of Andhra Pradesh to take his tally to 8 points. Thus there was a three way tie for first place between Rudra Pratap, Aksh Shrivastava and Nimalan Dharnipathy with all three having 8 points out of 9. Rudra Pratap was declared champion on the basis of superior tie break. Aksh was runner up while Nimalan got the third position in the final list.
The Girls Group was totally dominated by Ns. Liyaa Krishnan from Maharashtra who scored all 9 points from 9 rounds. In the final round too, needing only a draw to pocket the championship, she won against Myra Rathod of Punjab. Aditri Majumdar of WB drew her last round game against Aaradhya Kommery Rajneesh of Kerala to reach 7 ½ points. On the third board Rihanshi Munagala scored over Shaik Shazwa to reach 7 ½ points. On application of tie breaker, Aditri got second position and Rihanshi was placed third.
Winners Rudra Pratap in Open Group and Ns. Liya Krishnan in Girls Group got richer by Rs. 50000/-as prize. Runners up Aditri Majumdar of WB in Girls Group and Aksh Shrivastava of Maharashtra won Prize of Rs. 36000/- each. The third prize winners Rihanshi Munagala and Nimalan Dharanipathy got Rs. 30000/- as cash prize.
Prizes were distributed at the hands of GM Swapnil Dhopade and GM Sankalp Gupta. Shri Amit Gandhare, Director, Public Relations, Raisoni Group, Shri Bhushan Shriwas, Organising Secretary, Shri Ankush Raktade, Joint Secretary, MCA, Shri Vilas Mhatre, Organising Committee Member, Shri Ninant Pednekar, Organising Committee Member, IA Debashish Barua, Chief Arbiter, IA P, Palaniappan, Deputy Chief Arbiter were prominently present on the occasion.
The Members of Maharashtra Chess Association, Chess Association Nagpur, G.H. Raisoni Sports and Cultural Foundation worked hard for the success of the event.
IA Debashish Barua was the Chief Arbiter who was assited by IA P Palaniappan as Dy Chief Arbiter and Arbiters IA Pravin Thakre, FA Amit Temphurne, FA Bharati Dhote, FA Gayatri Panbude, FA Sagar Sakhare, SNA Shital Panbude, SNA Swati Kumbhalkar, SNA Ojas Raut, SNA Ninad Warudkar, SNA Prayas Ambade, SNA Akash Rewatkar, SNA Shishir Indurkar and Prathamesh Machave who worked hard for successful conduction of the event.
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