DAV Public School senior boys and girls stitched up easy wins to share leads on the opening day of Jamshedpur Girls and Guys Association (JOGGA) Inter-school Chess Championship, which began on the Bistupur campus on Monday.

Nikhil Singh, Abhinaba Pal (both DAV Public School, Bistupur) and Ayush Agarwal (DAV, NIT) scored three points each in as many rounds to emerge joint leaders in the senior boys section, while their counterparts, Indrani Ghosh (DAV, Agrico) and Anshupriya Kumari (DAV, Bistupur) also secured leads after the third round.

They now share lead with Ritika Kumari of Motilal Nehru Public School (MNPS) with three points each in their kitty.

In the junior boys category, Abhishek Kumar (Vig English School), Archit Mukherjee (Kerala Public School, Kadma), Vatsal Singhania (Carmel Junior College) and Ayush Pandey (MNPS) have notched up joint leads with 2 points in as many rounds.

Honey Paul (JH Tarpore School, Agrico), Ankana Kumari (St Mary's English School), Charu Agarwal (Narbheram Hansraj English School) and Kalpana Tiwari (KPS, Kadma) share the lead with 2 points each in as many rounds in the junior eves category.

The event was inaugurated by JOGGA president Shrimanti Sen in the presence of Tata sports wing administrator Mukul Choudhry, JOGGA vice-president Rajiv Seth, secretary Lalita Sareen, promoter Firoz Khan and DAV Public School (Bistupur) principal Pragya Singh.

As many as 237 students from 29 steel city schools are showcasing their talent across the table. The event will conclude on Wednesday.

"Response from schools has been very encouraging this year in spite of having a gap from last year's edition," said JOGGA vice-president Seth.

Besides chess, several sporting events, including athletics and basketball, are annually conducted under the JOGGA banner. The calendar of events will be shortly released by the outfit.