Flaunting the power of the brain over brawn, scores of young boys and girls will over the next few days engage in mental battles during the junior open chess championship hosted at the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) premises.
Organised at the NLC Middle School (Block-9), the 44th Tamil Nadu State Junior Open and the 29th edition of the State Junior Girls Chess Championship 2015 is featuring a competitive field of 152 boys and 83 girls from 27 districts of Tamil Nadu.
The events concludes on May 16.
N.S.Ramalingam, NLC General Manager (Township Administration), played the first move to formally launch the event.
R. Anantharaman, vice-president, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, and Chairman, Arbiters Commission of India, and R.K. Balagunasekharan, Joint Secretary of the Association, were present at the opening.
Mr. Ramalingam had a few words of encouragement for the young contestants as he highlighted the achievements of Grand Master Viswanathan Anand. However, he urged the chess enthusiasts to focus on having a good educational career while pursuing their sports career.
He honoured Srija Seshadri, student of Jawahar Matric Higher Secondary School, Block-17, Neyveli, with a trophy and medal for her international chess achievements and her academic excellence at the recent Plus-Two examinations.
A. Pavanasam, Manager of the Sports Control Board and chess coach, was also felicitated on the occasion.
