Pune school kids create flutter in world school chess

Two Pune school kids, Arush Dolas and Nivaan Khandadia, have created a flutter by clinching the gold and bronze medals respectively at the recently held World School Chess Championships at Antalya in Turkey.

With podium finishes in the competition, both Dolas and Khandadia have now earned the title of being known as Candidate Master (CM), which is given by the world chess body FIDE, a media release said on Monday.

Dolas, studying in the Bishop High School in Pune, won the U-7 open title category by scoring eight points in nine rounds.

Khandadia, who is the youngest rated chess player from the Global Indian International School, settled for the third place with 6.5 points.

A seasoned campaigner, Dolas trains under the watchful eyes of Woman International Master Mrulalini Kunte.

Khandadia, from the South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA), has now set a record of playing 500 games of competitive chess by taking part regularly in various tournaments, the release added.