Top seeds lead after two rounds of Maharashtra State School Chess Championship in Dahisar

The second leg of the Maharashtra State School Chess Championship began strongly. Several top seeds won consecutive games in the first two rounds, while lower-rated and unrated players also challenged bigger names and made the contest interesting.

The three-day event has begun at Rustomjee Cambridge International School in Dahisar (West), organised by Indian Chess School. A total of 387 players are taking part across six FIDE-rated sections: open and girls' categories for players under 9, under 13 and under 17.

In the under-9 open section, top seed Advan Oswal (1724) and Ivan Dubey (1545) lead with two wins each. Ivan had won the under-7 section in the first leg. Veer Shah, Atharva Mulik, Aarav Deshmukh and Nivesh Panchal also have two points. Unrated Dharvik Parab, Shivansh Bhala, Viren Boricha and Zayan Fatnani also drew attention with their performances.

In the under-9 girls' section, Lia Krishnan (1558) held her dominance with two straight wins. Mirai Sardana, Khanak Gada, Lavanya Singh and unrated Mansi Danu are also in the leading group.

In the under-13 open section, AIM Kashyap Khakhria (1789) started with a win. Arjun Prabhu, Ritik Bopanna, Mayan Jha and Aradhya Wagh are also still in the chase.

In the under-13 girls' section, top seed Tvesha Jain (1697) won twice. She shares the lead with Pranita Bhava, Mahua Deshpande, Ariha Deorukhkar, Nishka Agarwal and Tisya Pat.

In the under-17 open section, top seed AIM Hriday Maniyar (1910) won both games and put his rivals on notice. Yuvraj Pratap Singh, Soham Sahmate, Ronit Motwani and unrated Vihan Singh also scored two points.

In the under-17 girls' section, top seed Drishya Naik (1713) won two games in a row. Ikshaa Soni, Trisha Jagtap and Saina Nagarkatte also continued their winning run.

The event decides selection for the national team, so every game in the coming rounds will matter. The top two players in each section will be chosen to represent Maharashtra at the National School Chess Championship in Ahmedabad from December 16 to 20.