PANAJI
In the U-7 State Chess Championship held at the Government College of Commerce & Economics in Borda, Salcete's Evan Antonio Telles emerged as the Open Category champion, staying unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Telles clinched victory by outwitting Joash Cardozo in the final round and overcoming top seed Prayank Gaonkar of Salcete in the penultimate round. Gaonkar secured second place with 5 points after defeating Vivaan Rane in the final round. Aarav Naik from Ponda finished third, while Joash Cardozo took fourth. Ansh Gawas and Aarav Nagueshkar rounded out the top six, with Gawas placing fifth and Nagueshkar taking sixth after a decisive win over Tansh Gaude.
In the Girls Category, Sidonia Dacunha of Tiswadi also remained unbeaten to claim the championship. She defeated Aaradhya Dessai in the penultimate round and Raghavi Haldankar in the final.
Aaradhya Dessai finished second after her win over Amaira Borkar. Shivanya Rao and Trisha Patekar secured third and fourth places, respectively, while Raghavi Haldankar and Shreesha Ghadi took the fifth and sixth positions.
The tournament, organised by the Salcete Taluka Chess Association in collaboration with the Government College of Commerce & Economics and the Goa Chess Association, saw participation from 29 players in the Open Category and 17 in the Girls Category. The top two players will represent Goa at the U-7 National Championship in Bengaluru.
