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2nd edition of Goa GM International is here with a prize fund of Rs.53 lakh!

by Sagar Shah - 09/04/2019

The first Goa GM International 2018 was a big success. Over 1200 players participated at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium making it the biggest sporting event ever to be held on Goan soil. The good news for the Indian chess community is that the organizers have decided to continue the tournament and the second edition will be held from the 18th to the 25th of June 2019 at the same venue. 10th of April is the last date to avail the early bird discount. So don't miss it. In this article we bring you the experience of Beverly Mendonca, a chess player from Goa and also a talented artist, who played the 1st edition of the event. Check out her brilliant artistic impressions of Goa sprinkled with humour and creativity.

My experience of the 1st Goa GM International 2018

By Beverly Mendonca

 

It was around five years ago that I had last on my thinking hat in front of a chess board. Yes, you read me right - five long years ago! Now while I was buried in my books preparing for my grade 10 examinations. I could not resist getting distracted by all the buzz about my state Goa hosting its first ever GM tournament just a stone's throw away from my residence. The more I tried to focus on my books, the more I got distracted. So distracted or factually so attracted that on the same night I had dream of actually participating and clinching the title. I was on cloud nine, basking in all the glory and flattery when to my utter disbelief and disappointment I heard my mother's voice from the kitchen. "Beverly, wake up! It's 7 o'clock!" Alas, harsh reality dawned upon me!

The Mendonca family with little Leon (who is now an IM with an Elo of 2427) and Beverly (the author of this article) in the middle! 

As I got on with my daily routines, a sudden idea flashed through my mind telling me to participate and I thought to myself, "Why not?" One thing for sure is that once I set my mind on achieving something, nothing in this world can ever stop me. So I garnered up some courage and sought my mother's permission. She immediately retaliated asking me whether I had gone crazy more because of my timing. She then went on to discuss the matter with my dad suspecting my intentions and finally conceded on one condition - my study plan remains absolutely unaffected.

 

I then struck a deal with my brother Leon who decided to coach me in return for many favours (which I normally would not succumb to!). I put my heart, mind and soul into my preparation and decided to realistically participate only in the "B" and "C" categories respectively while my brother would play in A group. The countdown had long begun and finally the "D" Day had arrived. I, who, normally need to be literally shaken up and dragged out of bed was astonishingly up and about at 6 a.m. After having a power breakfast and almghty's blessings, we set off to the venue "Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium. in Bambolim.

The Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium where the tournament was held

As we approached there was this aura of grandeur. I honestly felt like a celebrity walking down the red carpet laid out leading into the stadium. The glittering trophies on the stage and the digital boards, the floodlights, the colourful flags, the buffet spread, the audience seating arrangement, it all looked so classy. I had participated in a couple of world class tournaments but believe me when I say, the 1st Goa International was a benchmark for other organizers to emulate.

 

All this was made possible by our dynamic president of Goa Chess Association Mr. Nilesh Cabral, who also happens to be our honourable Power Minister). Mr. Kishore Bandekar, Mr Mahesh Kandolkar and their entire team. The colourful opening ceremony gave the foreign participants mainly an insight into our culture and legacy.

Goan dance at the opening ceremony

Nilesh Cabral, the president of Goa Chess Association and also the Power Minister of the state felicitating Goa's top female player WGM Bhakti Kulkarni 

Innumerable volunteers like the ones in the photo above worked hard day and night to make the event possible

I started my tournament with a win whihc gave me the confidence to finish with a respectable score. I ended on a fine note, winning two most beautiful trophies, one for the "Best under-15 female player" in Category B. and the other for the "second best under-15" female player in Category C. What a finale, I couldn't have asked for more. This tournament will always be special for me because I had the pleasure of meeting two of the most remarkable personalities from our chess fraternity - Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal. I would like to thank Sagar in particular for spotting my talent and in a way 'exposing' me globally!

Check out Beverly's creations in the video!

Goa GM International through the art work of Beverly

As you can see from the above video Beverly is an expert at portraying things with her drawings. Here is some of her artwork that gives you an idea of the state of Goa and also the Goa GM International chess tournament. 

Goa is the land of beautiful beaches!

Ponda is the culture heart of Goa, home to a stunning array of temples and aromatic spice plantations unlike anywhere else in the state!

Goans to date consume bread instead of the Indian bread called Rotis or Chappatis or Parathas unlike the rest of India thanks to the influence of the Portugese ruling over Goa for around 450 years!

The heart and soul behind the 1st Goa GM International Grandmaster Chess Tournament - Nilesh Cabral and Goa Chess Association Secretary Kishor Bandekar

Martyn Kravtsiv the top seed is not pleased that Idani Pouya took home the winner's crown!

Mr. "Deepawn Chakkravarthy" was the highest finishing Indian at the Goa GM International 2018. He was third behind Idani and Babujian

Goa GM International 2019 is here!

By Sagar Shah

Get a feel of Goa GM International 2018. Mind you the venue is the same in 2019 as well

It is wonderful to see that the Goa GM International 2018 was not a lone event that was organized. The team is back with its second edition this June from 18th to 25th 2019. And yes the tournament will be held in the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium itself. Last year 1200 participants took part in A,B and C group combined. This year, the organizers would be looking to better the number. A look at the prospectus (download it from the link given at the end of the article) tells you the amount of care that the organizers have taken to ensure that everything is well organized. For eg. they have created teams to handle players from different states of India! This is pretty unique.

All the grandmasters who took part in the first edition of Goa GM International 2018 captured in one frame

The prizes have been increased from 35 lakh in 2018 to 53 lakh in 2019!

All the information for category A players. The first prize is Rs.3,50,000 (US $5,000)

Schedule and main prizes of Group B

Schedule and main prizes of Group C

Players who have already registered for Goa Group A (above 2000)

No. NameFideIDFEDRtgTypClub/City
1GMIturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo3901211VEN2639Venezuela
2GMPantsulaia Levan13602071GEO2611Georgia
3GMTer-Sahakyan Samvel13302531ARM2590Armwnia
4GMTurov Maxim4120086RUS2584Russia
5GMBernadskiy Vitaliy14100371UKR2581Ukraine
6GMTukhaev Adam14109476UKR2527Ukraine
7GMMalakhatko Vadim14104202BEL2508Belgium
8GMNeverov Valeriy14100150UKR2496Ukraine
9GMBabujian Levon13301993ARM2487Armenia
10IMKhusenkhojaev Muhammad14700247TJK2441Tajkiestan
11IMMohammad Nubairshah Shaikh5053196IND2436Maharashtra
12IMPrince Bajaj5045150IND2389Delhi
13GMManik Mikulas14900734SVK2386Slovakia
14IMGusain Himal5033861IND2383Chandigarh
15FMAnuj Shrivatri35070924IND2336M P
16Ajay Krishna S5096430IND2335T N
17Neelash Saha5094160IND2310West Bengal
18IMDeshmukh Anup5000564IND2253Maharashtra
19Raahul V S25035525IND2252T N
20Patil Pratik5038758IND2219Maharshtra
21IMRamnathan Balasubramaniam5001277IND2176T N
22Karthick Narayanan S25045288IND2069T N
23Ganesh R5037891IND2052T N
24Thaga Sheriff M46635637IND2049T N
25Anadkat Kartavya45017905IND1968Gujrat
26CMKadam Om Manish45076294IND1920Maharashtra
27Marcos Herrero Francisco2279045ESP1846Spain
28Acosta Mariano2008629USA1819USA

Complete list

Players who have already registered for Goa Group B (1600 - 2000)

No. NameFideIDFEDRtgTypClub/City
1Esshan Wadhawan45062056IND1884U15Delhi
2Joshi Abhijeet5010993IND1882Maharashtra
3Gavi Siddayya5032822IND1861Karnataka
4CMSharma Pankaj25080407IND1838Punjab
5Sanjay Chhabra5027306IND1778Delhi
6Jaspreet Singh35094602IND1655Punjab
7Tanvi Vasudev Hadkonkar46643613IND1638U15FGoa
8WCMChopdekar Gunjal25099450IND1627U15FGoa
9AIMSushrutha Reddy5039100IND1604Karnataka
10Karnik Bhavesh25019473IND1589Maharashtra
11Joshi Abhijit5026091IND1564Maharashtra
12Kadam Rishi R46672753IND1553U15Maharashtra
13Daaevik Wadhawan45015724IND1550U11Delhi
14Shibin K Benny35040715IND1519Kerala
15Darsh Shetty25906887IND1478U11Maharashtra
16Hingne Shirish5061091IND1472S50Maharashtra
17Swayam Naik45006083IND1469U15Goa
18Anil Verma25037480IND1465Delhi
19Prerak Darvekar45011060IND1462U13Maharashtra
20Adithya Vallinayagan Muthukumar45028400IND1457T N
21ACMSrivatsan Karthikeyan25684248IND1455U13T N
22Mrithyunjay Mahadevan45003521IND1413U11T N
23Rachishnu Datta45033927IND1393U13West Bengal
24Tushar Barua25644092IND1386West Bengal
25Rajanya Datta45033641IND1383U11West Bengal
26Harsh Mangesh Dagare46643540IND1243U15Goa
27Salunke Pushkaraj25762702IND1232U15Maharashtra
28Joshi Rahul45087920IND1206Maharashtra
29Ayush Sanjeev Naik45051046IND1197Goa
30Elias Barreto25108468IND1135S50Goa
31Agawane Anish25966502IND1127U15Maharashtra
32Nagvekar Sairudra25678833IND1091U13Goa
33Manish Kumar Singh25637029IND1050M P
34Aditya Sharma25721143IND1041Chandigarh
35Charuta J Shetye46642790IND1018U15FGoa
36Diya Digamber Sawal25981420IND0U7FGoa
37Sairaj Narvenkar25980874IND0U7Goa

Complete list

Players who have already registered for Goa Group C (below 1600)

No. NameFideIDFEDRtgTypClub/City
1
Shibin K Benny35040715IND1519Kerala
2
Prerak Darvekar45011060IND1462U13Maharashtra
3
AFMJitendra Kumar Jawahar46676104IND1457Bihar
4
Adithya Vallinayagan Muthukumar45028400IND1457T N
5
Santhosh V R35053965IND1444Kerala
6
Mrithyunjay Mahadevan45003521IND1413U11T N
7
Eswaran P25067982IND1386Kerala
8
Tawade Arnav25632299IND1353U13Maharashtra
9
Vineesh P S35021338IND1340Kerala
10
Yashodarshan Kalmanoor25747320IND1322Telangana
11
Ronit Prasad45064164IND1256U13Karnataka
12
Harsh Mangesh Dagare46643540IND1243U15Goa
13
Ayush Sanjeev Naik45051046IND1197Goa
14
Ishan V S Kakodkar46642838IND1130Goa
15
Joshi Tushar45093385IND1122Chatisgarh
16
Nagvekar Sairudra25678833IND1091U13Goa
17
Manish Kumar Singh25637029IND1050M P
18
Aditya Sharma25721143IND1041Chandigarh
19
ACMDiukar Tushar35069012IND1024Goa
20
Savant Praveen45010285IND1021Maharashtra
21
Kulkarni Anandrao46682511IND1019S60Maharashtra
22
Charuta J Shetye46642790IND1018U15FGoa
23
Abhilash Jose25907050IND0Maharashtra
24
Abhir Prabhu25118595IND0U7Goa
25
Anchit Ajeet Naik25664085IND0U13Goa
26
Bhat Sharmad46602003IND0Goa
27
Diya Digamber Sawal25981420IND0U7FGoa
28
Harsh Upadhyay25117831IND0U15U P
29
Mishra Akshat25678582IND0U15Goa
30
Prabhu Varad25730568IND0U9Goa
31
Sairaj Narvenkar25980874IND0U7Goa
32
Sapre Swanand25966901IND0U11Maharashtra
33
Sarasambi Amaey25966910IND0U13Maharashtra
34
Shweta Kamalaksh Sahakari46643192IND0U15FGoa
35
Vasudeo Karlekar25111876IND0S60Maharshtra
36
Vivek Sharma25901176IND0M P

Complete list

This is the tariff chart for Group A

The tariff chart for Group B and C

Until 10th of April 2019, you have the early bird discount. Check it out and register from the link below.

Get the Early bird discount if you register before 10th of April 2019

2018 coverage on ChessBase India

Round 1: No less than Batumi

Round 2: 6-year-old prodigy and 12-year-old Veteran

Round 3+4: What is Troitsky's line?

Round 5: Who said GMs and IMs do not blunder

Round 6+7: Madhya Pradesh domination 

Round 8: An Iranian, an Ukrainian and an Armenian

Round 9: Being ambitious sometimes works, sometimes doesn't

Round 10: Pouya Idani wins Goa GM 2018

ChessBase India is the media partner for this event and there will be a ChessBase India knowledge stall at the venue

We will be there to help you in every possible way to take your game to the next level 

The organizing secretary and the man behind the Goa GM International 2019 - Kishor Bandekar

Important links:

Official website

Registration portal for players

Chess-results

Playlist of Goa GM 2018 (25 videos)

Prospectus of Goa GM International 2019