BHUBANESWAR 05-Nov-2014 79
Odisha WGM Padmini Rout won her maiden National Women’s Premier chess title with a round to spare in the 48th edition of the championship, which was held at Sangli in Maharashtra from October 25 to November 5.
The Bhubaneswar lass became the 18th player ever and first from Odisha to achieve the success and she did it in style, staying unbeaten in the 11-round competition and finishing with 9.5 points. Padmini replaced three-time champion Mary Ann Gomes as the new champion.
Padmini had been a strong player for long and was widely tipped by experts like Manuel Aaron and others to win this title. Her play is packed with depth and tact. She had won the gold medal for the best result among players in the fifth board in the Tromso Olympiad 2014.
While felicitating the bronze medal winning Indian team at Chennai on Sep 5, 2014, the AICF chose to felicitate her as well. Padmini Rout had previously been the National Junior Girls Champion of India. She came directly from Pune having become India’s best performer in the World Junior Girls that concluded on October 19.
PADMINI AT NATIONAL PREMIER: Round-1: Drew with WIM Ivana Maria Furtado; Round-2: Beat Pratyusha Bodda; Round-3: Drew with IM Mohota Nisha; Round-4: Beat WFM Varshini V; Round-5: Beat WGM Gomes Mary Ann; Round-6: Beat WGM Swathi Ghate; Round-7: Beat Lakshmi Praneetha K; Round-8: Beat IM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman; Round-9: Drew with WGM Kulkarni Bhakti; Round-10: Beat Hinduja Reddy; Round-11: Beat Nimmy AG.
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PHOTO: Padmini Rout at the Premier Women National Chess Championship in Sangli.
