Karthik, Sai Raj claim titles in KIIT Intl Chess Fest

Karthik Venkataraman and Sai Raj Gopal completed a creditable double for Andhra Pradesh by winning Category `A’ and `C’ titles respectively in the 11th KIIT International Chess Festival, which was jointly organised by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA) at KIIT and KIIT International School here from May 25 to June 1.

International Master Venkataraman logged nine points out of a possible 10 to take home the top prize of Rs 2 lakh. Russia Grandmaster Ivan Rozum bagged the second prize of Rs 1 lakh, while the third prize of Rs 80,000 was pocketed by Tajikistan Grandmaster Farrukh Amonatov. Grandmaster Debashis Das was most successful Odisha player, finishing seventh with 7.5 points.