Sirja wins national under-15 chess title

Sirja Seshadri’s eyes welled up after she was shocked by Pranali Dharia in the ninth round of the Runwal’s 29th national U-15 girl’s chess championship earlier in the week. The outcome didn’t impact her title chances.

It wasn’t merely the defeat that affected her. She wanted to maintain a good lead and have a clean slate. The loss only delayed her title bid. She’s only 14 but takes the game very seriously. She won the title, organised by the Bombay Chess Association, on Thursday, defeating statemate V Shvetha to finish at nine points.

Her phone hasn’t stopped ringing since then. “She has been getting calls from people who have been following her. It was a very good win for her,” said P Seshadri, her father.

He said Sirja has already started analysing her game. “After the match, she is not quite in the mood to celebrate. She has already started thinking about her game, the mistakes made and the areas she need to work on,” he said.

Sirja has been awarded Rs 22, 000 as cash prize along with the trophy.

Results: Top 10: 1. WFM Sirja Seshadri (TN) 9 points, 2. WFM Monnisha GK (TN) 8.5,
3. Sunyasakta Satpathy (Ori) 8, 4. Pranali Dharia (Mah) 8, 5. WCM Riya Savant (Goa) 8, 6. Saranya Y (TN) 7.5, 7. Vaishali R (TN) 7, 8. Lasya G (AP) 7.5, 9. Soneji Janhavi (Mah) 7.5, 10. Meenu Priya (TN) 7.5