Delhi International Open: Shreya holds Aleksandrov; Sarvani stuns Ratnakaran

On Friday, Shreya posted her biggest result by holding seasoned Grandmaster Aleksej Aleksandrov in the second round of the Delhi International Open chess tournament at the Nehru Stadium.

Representative Image: Shreya punched way over her modest rating of 1508 to prove equal to the 12th seed from Belarus, rated 2484, in 46 moves.  | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Shreya Hipparagi, 13, has been making waves with podium finishes across Asian, Commonwealth and National age-group championships.

On Friday, Shreya posted her biggest result by holding seasoned Grandmaster Aleksej Aleksandrov in the second round of the Delhi International Open chess tournament at the Nehru Stadium.

This talented girl from Sankh (on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border), punched way over her modest rating of 1508 to prove equal to the 12th seed from Belarus, rated 2484, in 46 moves. Her proud coach International Master Anup Deshmukh is also part of this field and won the first two rounds.

Aleksandrov is a regular participant in Indian tournaments for over a decade and has won titles in Mumbai and Bhubaneswar. The only consolation the 49-year old received was when fellow-Grandmaster and 24th seeded compatriot Vitaly Teterev (2377) was held by another teen talent A. S. Jeeva (1487).

Though all the leading seeds scored expected victories, International Master K. Ratnakaran (2275) crashed to a stunning loss against rising talent Sarvani Cheedella (1476) from Vijayawada to become the strongest player to lose.

Gaurav Sharma (1495) did well to hold another International Master Anuj Shrivatri.