Woman Grandmaster Padmini Rout (left) from Orissa defeated top seed Tania Sachdev (right), an International Master, at the 37th Premier National Women Chess Championship 2010 in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 29: The 37th Premier National Women Chess Championship kicked off on December 25 at Infosys in the capital.

Organised by the Khurdha District Chess Association and the Kalinga Chess Academy, the national-level tournament has generated strong interest among sports lovers in the city.

Around 25 women chess champions from all over the country are fighting it out for the title at championship, which is being held for the first time in Orissa.

The tournament has International Master (IM) Tania Sachdev from Delhi as top seed while IM Eesha Karavade from Maharashtra and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Padmini Rout from Orissa as the second and third seeds.

WGM Kiran Manisha Mohanty from Orissa as well as state champion Aparajita Gochhikar are also participating in the event that has reached the fifth round by Wednesday.

“I’m excited to be participating in the championship as it’s being held here in my city,” said a delighted Kiran Manisha.

Kiran clinched a victory against Minki Sinha from Bihar on Wednesday. However, the match of the tournament that has created waves among chess followers of the state was Padmini’s win against top seed Tania in the fourth round match on Tuesday.

“I’m thinking of the next round right now. I have practiced a lot but the competition is very tough. Of course, I’m enjoying playing in the tournament and it feels great to play host to my friends from other states,” said Padmini.

“It’s wonderful to see people in the city keeping a close eye on the game after wonderful performances by the girls of state.

“The National Championship is important for selection for international events. In fact, the winner will be the only woman player to be selected for 2011 chess World Cup from India,” said Satya Patnaik, chess instructor from All Orissa Chess Federation.

The series will be on till January 5. As per current standings, Mary Ann Gomes leads the table with 4 points while six players, including Padmini, share the second place with 3.5 points each.

“I’m happy with my performance. But it’s an 11 round tournament. So you can never guess what will happen in the next game. The standings change everyday but I will give my best,” says Gomes from West Bengal.

The round robin championship will also decide the players for the Indian chess team to represent the country at various tournaments.