[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA) organised it’s second Inter-city Invitational Chess Club Tournament on 11th October for players having a FIDE ELO points of 1500 or less.
The second edition of the tournament had an even bigger turnout than the first one with 10 teams competing against each other.
“Covid-19 lockdown blessed the chess fraternity with many forums to encourage players to play chess online. We all quickly adapted from physical boards to online. Chess was always considered an individual game until SMCA management turned very creative to introduce a National level online Team chess event. They also ensured we had our cameras on to have a free and fair tournament. I was indeed very happy and proud to have been nominated as the captain of this extremely talented and focussed chess enthusiasts (Team SCA) .This Team event was a good experience for all of us not only to enjoy the game but also helped in improving coordination skills. We continuously motivated and cheered out teammates.” says Riddhi Upase, Captain of the Solapur Chess Academy Team.
All the participants were connected via a Zoom call & they seemed to have enjoyed the day’s affairs to the fullest. “The experience of playing the wonderful tournament was delightful. I really appreciate the fact that SMCA are keeping tournaments online even in this Corona Pandemic period. The tournaments provide a very good opportunity to sharpen my skills and annul my mistakes by playing with a diversity of players from a variety of states.” says participant Libah Reyhan from Mastermind Chess Academy, Chennai
The participating Academies were:
Aspire Chess Center(ACC), Pondicherry: Aspire Chess Center is one of the first chess academies in Pondicherry. They have carved a niche for themselves with their quality coaching & infrastructure.
Maestro Chess Academy(MCA), Hyderabad: Maestro Chess Academy is headed by FIDE Instructor Amithpal Singh. Coach Amithpal has been teaching chess for 20+ years. MCA has groomed budding champions and shaped their chess careers since 2013.
Mastermind Chess Academy (MMCA), Chennai: Mastermind Chess Academy is headed by Senior Coach & FIDE Arbiter C Natarajan. MMCA has produced many rated players in it’s lifespan of over 20+ years.
Matrix Chess Academy/Club, Delhi, Gurgaon, Tripura: Matrix Chess Academy is founded & headed by FIDE Trainer Prasenjit Dutta. Matrix has been a chess pioneer in north India since it’s foundation. They have produced many world class players.
South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA), Mumbai & Rajahmundry: South Mumbai Chess Academy has been founded by FIDE Trainer Balaji Guttula & FIDE Rated Player Nagesh Guttula. SMCA has been imparting chess coaching to it’s students since 1996. Having produced National & International Champions and Rated players over the years.
Solapur Chess Academy(SCA), Solapur: Solapur Chess Academy has been founded by FIDE Rated Chess Players Prashant Gangji & Sumukh Gaikwad in the year 2004 in Solapur. It is one of the biggest chess academies in Solapur. SCA has since produced many champions in the past 14 years of its operations.
Ehsaan Shaikh from Maestro Chess Academy says, “It has been a good exposure playing at the tournament with all different styles of players & a great learning experience.”
A total of 112 players participated in the tournament that took place on 11th October 2020.
The final standings are as follows (Average points of Top 8 players considered from each team):
- Mastermind Chess Academy, Chennai – 32.5 Points
- Matrix Chess Academy, Delhi – 30.5 Points
- Solapur Chess Academy – 26.5 Points
- Aspire Chess Center – 26 Points
- Matrix Chess Academy, Agartala – 26 Points
- Maestro Chess Academy, Hyderabad – 24 Points
- SMCA, Rajahmundry – 20.5 Points
- Matrix Chess Academy, Gurgaon – 20.5 Points
- SMCA, Mumbai – 19 Points
- Matrix Chess Club – 14 Points
The top 3 players performances are as follows:
- Gokul Ramanathan from Mastermind Chess Academy, Chennai – 5 Points
- Kanishk Goel from Matrix Chess Academy, Delhi – 5 Points
- Karthik Kaushal from Matrix Chess Academy, Gurgaon – 5 Points
SMCA’s CEO & Director Nagesh Guttula quotes, “As our endeavour is to reach 1000 participants become a part of our tournament, I think we’re moving in the right direction as the second event has gotten bigger & the ensuing editions will be much bigger & better.”
Our next invitational tournament shall be held on 1st November 2020. For more details kindly contact us +91 9987797792
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