Bhakti Kulkarni wins National Women's Chess Championship
Bhakti Kulkarni retained her National Women's Chess Championship title as she put in a dominant performance to finish with 10 points from 11 rounds as the competition concluded in Tamil Nadu. Vantika Agrawal finished first runner-up after playing out a draw with Mrudul Dehankar in the last round.Â
Air India's Bhakti Kulkarni was successful in defending her title as she put up a dominant performance. She bagged a total of 10 points from 11 rounds to retain her title at the ongoing 46th National Women Chess Championship which concluded in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu yesterday. Kulkarni was held to a draw in the final round by WIM Pratyusha Bodda of Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra player had a few opportunities at the start to take the upper hand in the game but failed to do so. Kulkarni also failed to make the most of the chances that came her way and signed the peace treaty after 62 moves. She took home Rs four lakh as prize money for winning the title.
With a final tally of eight and half points, Delhi's Vantika Agrawal finished first runner-up after she split a point with Mrudul Dehankar of Maharashtra on the last day. Third seed Divya Deshmukh of Nagpur caught up with Vantika on points after beating P V Nandhidhaa of Tamil Nadu but had to make with second runner-up position on tie-break score.