National Chess Competition for specially-abled persons: Tamil Nadu players steal show winning 16 medals

Chess players from Tamil Nadu showcased their talent and won 16 medals out of 48 in the National-Level Chess Championship organised exclusively for Specially abled players by the Chess Federation for Physically Disabled.

According to a statement released on Sunday morning (June 29, 2025) by Andhra Chess Association’s CEO K.V. Jwala Mukhi, the tournament held between June 24 and 29 in Vizianagaram evoked good response from players of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and other States with the active participation of more than 150 players.

A student from Vijayawada Venkata Krishna Karthik won the first prize in the main category. He was given a 20,000 cash prize, medal and meritorious certificate during the prize distribution ceremony held on Saturday night (June 28, 2025.) Around ₹3 lakh prize money has been distributed to 48 players of various categories.

Sharon Rachel Aby of Tamil Nadu got first prize in the women’s category. Iniyan Gopinathen of Tamil Nadu emerged victorious and got first place in the Junior Boys category.

In wheelchair category, a New Delhi student Vaibhav Gautham got the first prize and Tamil Nadu player R. Ashwin has received the second prize. President of Chess Federation for Physically Disabled M. Bhaskaran said the winners of the tournament are eligibile to participate in 24th World Chess Championship-2025 to be held in Goa between July 21 and 31, 2025.

Mr. Mukhi urged the governments to extend their support to differently-abled persons to excel in chess competitions since they were second to none in talent and it was proved with their stunning performance in the tournament held for them in the Fort City.