NAGPUR: Living up to her billing, Vedika Pal remained unbeaten to emerge as the Maharashtra champion in the U-10 state selection chess tournament which concluded at Kolhapur on Friday.
The top-seeded city prodigy finished on top of the table in the seven-round girls' section of the state tournament collecting 6.5 points. The nine-year-old Vedika won six games after being held to a draw by Yavatmal's Swadha Datir in the third round.
The event was organized by Kolhapur Chess Association under the aegis of Maharashtra Chess Association (MCA).
Vedika started her campaign with a win over Mumbai's Khwaish Bafna while defending with black pieces. In the second round, she utilized her opening advantage with the white pieces well and outclassed Gunjan Oswal from Satara.
In the third round, she failed to defend and was held to a draw by unseeded Swadha. Thereafter, there was no looking back for Vedika as she dominated the tournament by winning all the four remaining rounds.
After posting a facile victory over Parbhani's Hindawee Yadav in the fourth round, Vedika made light work of Ovi Pawade from Pune, and city mate Divyanshi Khandelwal to jump to the joint lead with Stuti Surve of Thane. In the final round, Vedika defended well with her black pieces to get the better of Stuti and emerge as the new Maharashtra girls' champion collecting 6.5 points.
With this triumph, Vedika has earned the right to represent Maharashtra in the U-10 nationals.
