Amrita Chess Club member student, Mr. M. S. Sasankan, 3rd year Computer Science and Engineering, Amritapuri, secured 5th place in the 2nd Champions International FIDE Rated Tournament Below 1600 rating, held at Salem, Tamil Nadu. With 3 rounds per day, the tournament started on 1st September, 2017, and concluded on 3rd September, 2017. With more than 400 players from across and outside the state, Mr. Sasankan grabbed the trophy and prize money for 5th place in under 1200 rating category. Vasanth S., 3rd year Mechanical Engineering, Amritapuri, also participated in the event.
The tournament was organized by Champions Chess Academy and Rotary Club Salem and it was hosted at AVS College of Technology. FIDE is an international rating system. All players who have registered for FIDE will have a rating starting from the top, the world champion Magnus Carlsen with the highest rating. FIDE rated chess tournaments are organized at different levels across the nation and in other countries, in order to promote chess and identify genuine chess talents. A person having a FIDE rating is definitely a chess player who is very serious obout his game.
The Amrita Chess Club is running in Amritapuri Campus for the last 6 months, with many chess enthusiastic students and staff taking part. The students are presently coached by faculty member Mr. Rupesh Kalesan, Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amritapuri, on regular basis. The club members have participated in 4 tournaments in the last 6 months and have secured prizes, especially in a FIDE open rated tournament held at Angamaly in June 2017.
“Though personally I am happy with M. S. Sasankan’s victory, I strongly believe that with regular practice and hardwork, he can make a more firm mark in the chess records and bring laurels and prestigious prizes to our institution in future. Hope Almighty gives them the strength and knowledge to explore more in this intellectual domain,” said Mr. Rupesh Kalesan.
“This was a nice experience, I learned lots of new things. I usually play tournaments in Kerala but this was something different and the standard of Tamil Nadu players is very high, so the competition was very tough. I’m very lucky to get a prize in such a big event. This was my one of the greatest achievements in my chess career. I found this tournament very helpful and I thank the PT department and the college for giving me this wonderful opportunity to participate in such a big event. I especially thank Rupesh sir and Krishna Kumar sir for giving me all the support,” shared Mr. Sasankan.
