Maharashtra State Schools Chess Championship 2026: Ivaan Dubey, Liyaa Krishnan Among Six Winners In Mumbai

Mumbai, November 6: Ivaan Dubey, Liyaa Krishnan, Kaushik Ajinkya Rayate, Tvesha Ashish Jain, Samvid Pasbola and Khanak Paharia emerged champions in their respective categories as the first phase of the SBI Life Maharashtra State Schools Chess Championship 2026 concluded at Rustomjee Cambridge International School, Dahisar (West), on Friday.

Organised and conducted by Indian Chess School, the seven-round FIDE-rated championship witnessed keen competition among 417 players across six categories in the Under-7, Under-11 and Under-15 age groups.

The standout performance came from top seed Ivaan Dubey (1545) of Brainiacs International School, who dominated the Under-7 Open category with seven victories from seven games. Yuvansh Nimja (1453) of Global Indian International School finished runner-up with six points, ahead of Advik Verma (1447) of Vibgyor High School, Kharghar, on tie-break.

In the Under-7 Girls category, top seed Liyaa Krishnan (1558) of Kanakia International School secured the championship with six points. Eleanor D'Souza of Witty International School, Mumbai, finished second with 5½ points, followed by Neerja Onkar Jadhav, also on 5½ points.

The Under-11 Open title went to Kaushik Ajinkya Rayate (1490) of SNBP International School, Rahatani, who scored 6½ points. Agastya N. Kasat (1527) of CNS Mumbai finished runner-up with six points, while Viren Rohit Boricha of Matrix Academy School secured third place, also with six points.

In the Under-11 Girls section, top seed Tvesha Ashish Jain (1697) of Greenlawns High School clinched the championship with 6½ points. Second seed Aashvi Ankit Agarwal (1634) of Gundecha Education Academy finished runner-up with six points, while Sanamary John Paul (1463) of R. N. Podar School secured third place with five points.

The Under-15 Open championship was won by top seed Samvid Pasbola (1912) of Hiranandani Foundation International School, who finished with six points. AFM Rayan Merchant (1822) of C. N. M. School, Vile Parle, secured second place with 5½ points, while AFM Taseen Rafique Tadavi (1802) of St. Teresa's Convent High School finished third, also with 5½ points.

In the Under-15 Girls category, Khanak Paharia (1588) of Narayana E-Techno School, Andheri, claimed the title with six points. Mahua Vighnesh Deshpande (1527) of C. N. M. School, Vile Parle, finished runner-up with 5½ points, while Pranitha Bhava (1655) of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyalaya secured third place with five points.

As per Maharashtra Chess Association regulations, the top two finishers in each of the six categories will represent Maharashtra at the ensuing National Schools Chess Championship.

The prizes were presented by International Arbiter P. B. Bhilare and Tournament Director Praful Zaveri, Founder and Managing Director of Indian Chess School.

The top three finishers in each category received glittering SBI Life trophies, while players finishing fourth to tenth were presented with SBI Life medals. In addition, each of the top ten players in all six categories was awarded a cash prize of ₹10,000, amounting to a total prize fund of ₹6 lakh.

FINAL RESULTS (TOP TEN)

Under-7 Open:

1. Ivaan Dubey (7 points)

2. Yuvansh Nimja (6)

3. Advik Verma (6)

4. AFM Kshiv Dnyaneshwar Chakave (6)

5. Bendis Richard (6)

6. Adiraj Sameer Chavan (5½)

7. Aarush Abhishek Malkar (5)

8. Aksh Shrivastava (5)

9. Doshi Rian (5)

10. Aniruddha Mandar Nagarkar (5)

Under-7 Girls:

1. Liyaa Krishnan (6 points)

2. Eleanor D'Souza (5½)

3. Neerja Onkar Jadhav (5½)

4. Tanishka Bhandari (5)

5. Roonvi Navin Randive (5)

6. Shikeria Prisha (5)

7. Pakhi Tushar Patel (5)

8. Maanasi Sunil Adde (5)

9. Anaahita Mahajan (5)

10. ACM Aashita Kumari (4)

Under-11 Open:

1. Kaushik Ajinkya Rayate (6½ points)

2. Agastya N. Kasat (6)

3. Viren Rohit Boricha (6)

4. Poddar Daksh (6)

5. Satish Sheregar Gyan (5½)

6. Ravi Jhavar Aarav (5½)

7. Aditya Choudhury (5½)

8. AFM Ojas Dinesh Koyande (5½)

9. Priyansh Ajay Jain (5½)

10. AFM Laksh Parmar (5½)

Under-11 Girls:

1. Tvesha Ashish Jain (6½ points)

2. Aashvi Ankit Agarwal (6)

3. Sanamary John Paul (5)

4. Nitya Bang (5)

5. Reva Ashish Khude (5)

6. Sarvaa Shailesh Parelkar (5)

7. Mirai Sardana (5)

8. Lavanya Singh (4½)

9. Reeva Aniruddha Charankar (4½)

10. Naina Choksi (4½)

Under-15 Open:

1. Samvid Pasbola (6 points)

2. AFM Rayan Merchant (5½)

3. AFM Taseen Rafique Tadavi (5½)

4. Varad More (5)

5. Yash Anil Modani (5)

6. ACM Lakshya Agrawal (5)

7. Yuvraj Avadhesh Pratap Singh (5)

8. Vihaan Anupam Agrawal (5)

9. Shaurya Kaushal Shah (5)

10. AFM Aarush Sarode (5)

Under-15 Girls:

1. Khanak Paharia (6 points)

2. Mahua Vighnesh Deshpande (5½)

3. Pranitha Bhava (5)

4. Niskha Agarwal (5)

5. Sanchi Kiran Sagare (5)

6. Ariha Sharad Deorukhakar (5)

7. AFM Twinkle Dasgupta (4½)

8. Kartikee Mandar Thakur (4½)

9. Ihina Ravi Iyer (4)

10. Arya Naik (4)