NAGPUR: City's chess prodigy Vedika Pal hogged the limelight in the 4th Hyderabad All India Below 1600 Fide Rating Tournament. In a field of 728 masters, the eight-year-old Vedika surprised five higher seeds to emerge as the best player in the Under-9 girls’ group.
With a performance rating of 1211 in the nine-round tournament, the unrated girl is all set to earn her first Elo points in the classical format of the sport. She already has 1320 Elo points in the rapid format.
In the Hyderabad tourney, Vedika had a starting rank of 577 and won five games, lost four to finish the three-day event at the 240th position and won the age category award.
On her way to the U-9 best finish, Vedika defeated PS Praveen, Adipta Saha, Narahari Geethika Hasini, KC Devanand and Arena Chess Master (ACM) VC Nivedita. She lost four games against higher seeds.
Earlier in September, Vedika won her first national medal when she clinched bronze in the U-8 selection tournament organised by the All-India Chess Federation (AICF). Vedika's first national medal helped her earn a spot in the Indian team for the Western Asia Chess Championship
The BVM, Civil Lines, student learned the basics of chess while playing with her father at their Narendra Nagar residence. She is a daughter of Vijay Kumar and Dr Mamta Pal, and is trained by Bhushan Shriwas.
