Celestial Minds hosted the New England Junior Open Chess Championship on June 8th, at Radisson Hotel, Chelmsford MA. There were a total of forty seven participants who took part in the competition from RI, NH and MA states. Four games in Swiss League Game 30 format was followed with zero time delay.

Bob Messenger and Kavyashree Mallanna were the tourney directors. K-3 section had a tie between Nicholas Belous and Jerry Li with perfect scores. A five minutes blitz was employed to decide the winner and Nicholas Belous won the Championship. Jerry Li and Advay Goel took second and third spots.

In K-12 section, Abhinav Govindaraju emerged as clear winner with four points. David Katsman and Suhas Katikaneni took second and third spots.

A melodious invocation was rendered by Vaishnavi Kondapalli that was followed by award ceremony. Trophies and Medals were distributed by Chief guests Mr.Jagannath Alagawadi, Mrs.Archana Dubey, Venu Sathu, Prasanna Nagabhushan. Top three  winners also received Chess related gifts like puzzle books, hard cover score books and chess bags. Players under the age of six received consolation prizes. Meghana Kancharla, Shreeya Gomathynayagam and Sanjana Kunnikuru performed the best amongst girls.

Celestial Minds students Anish Kammila, Akhil Kammaila and Suhas Katikaneni were honored for their consistent performance in the local USCF events.

Mr.Jagannath addressed the players and expressed that, even with natural talent one needs training and dedication to reach higher goals. He advised players to focus on constant improvement of their skills. Mrs. Archana Dubey spoke about the importance of sports and education in one’s life.

Kavyashree Mallanna, founder and director of Celestial Minds shared the road map for the year 2014. An open to all Chess presentation is being planned in which Grand Masters of different playing styles will be sharing their knowledge on Openings and Endgames. She hopes players will enjoy this seminar that combines both tactical and positional strategies.

Post event, participants and parents shared that the event was conducted in an excellent manner and they liked the award ceremony that is often missing in most tournaments. Especially in Chess since there is no cheering during the game, having a prize distribution ceremony in a formal way is a celebration not only for the winners but also for everyone who takes part. Celestial Minds also encourages participants with medals regardless of the score, as kids play for more than half a day and complete all the rounds that is infact itself a wonderful achievement.

Team members for this event included Siri Venepalle, Rekha Vrushi, Dr. C.J. Kiran kumar, Kishore Tiruveedhula, Bob Messenger, Prasanna kumar and Dr.Shashidhar.

Celestial Minds will be back this year end with their annual Chess event and hopes to see the same enthusiasm and participation by Chess community.

Celestial Minds Summer Chess Camp: 

Tutor: Kavyashree Mallanna, USCF Rated Expert 

Please contact info@celestialminds.net or 603-204-1375 to enroll.

USCF rated - New England Junior Open Chess Championship -2014 Results

Top Ten Standings K-12 Section

1. Abhinav Govindaraju  (Concord, NH)
2. David Katsman   (Chestnut Hill, MA)
3. Suhaas Katikaneni  (Nashua, NH)
4. Anish Kammila   (Nashua, NH)
5. Aayush H Patel  (Acton, MA)
6. Srinath Rangan   (Nashua, NH)
7. Eli Matt Richmond (MA)
8. Rishikesh Girish  ( Acton, MA)
9. Amish Mathews   (Westford, MA)
10. Advait Natti  (Acton, MA)

Top Ten Standings K-3 Section

1. Nicholas Belous  (Reading, MA)
2. Jerry Li  (Acton, MA)
3. Advay Goel  (Acton, MA)
4. Kyle Hooloomann (Acton, MA)
5. Meghana Kancharla  (Hudson, MA)
6. Ajay Potula  (MA)
7. Johan G Mathew (MA)
8. Saisidharth Seyyadri (MA)
9. Aryan Mitta (Lexington, MA)
10. Ethan Sean Lubomirski (MA)

Girls Special Recognition

1. Meghana Kancharla (Hudson, NH) 
2. Shreeya Gomathinayagam (Hannover, NH)
3. Sanjana Kunnikuru (Nashua, NH)

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