Clean sweeps for champs Trisha, Krisha and Tvesha

U-16 champ Trisha Jagtap (left) and U-12 winner Krisha Jain at St Sebastian School, Chembur; (right) Tvesha Jain, the U-10 champion, with her trophy and certificate. Pics/Ashish Raje

Trisha Jagtap of The Green Acres Academy emerged champion in the U-16 girls section while Krisha Jain of Podar International School won the U-12 girls segment and Tvesha Jain of Green Lawns High School clinched the U-10 girls title in the MSSA inter-school chess tournament at St Sebastian High School (Chembur) on Sunday.

In what was a clean sweep, Trisha (seven rounds), Krisha and Tvesha (nine rounds) made some scintillating moves to win all their games.

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Tvesha, a chess prodigy, is set to go places. She is currently ranked No. 1 in Maharashtra and third in India in the U-9 category. She has represented the state at evens in Solapur and Pune in September and emerged champion. Having won over 100 tournaments so far, Tvesha emerged triumphant here, beating Thea Wagle of Vasudev C Wadhwa Arya Vidya Mandir in the final round. "The game opened with Thea making the D4 move, and I responded with D5, entering the Queen's Gambit structure. As the mid-game unfolded, I launched a strong kingside attack, focusing on rapid piece development. A pivotal moment came when I pinned her rook with my queen, preventing her from castling, which allowed me to intensify my attack. As the game transitioned, I was under some pressure but I managed to convert my advantage, efficiently coordinating my queen and bishop to deliver the final checkmate," an elated Tvesha told mid-day.

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"It was a competitive tournament as there were nine rounds. I'm happy that I won all. The last round was a bit difficult and the other rounds also featured some exciting matches with good players. Kudos to the MSSA," added Tvesha.

Nitya Bang of Bombay Scottish finished in second place while Girisha Pai came third in the girls U-10 category.

In the U-16 girls category, Janhavi Gadade of IES New English School emerged as runner-up while Maanvi Chaudhri of St Gregorios High School finished third.
In the U-12 girls section, Mahua Deshpande of CNM & ND Parekh School stood second while Hiranmayee Kulkarni of Arya Vidya Mandir came third.