Harshit wins 3rd Sunita Verma Memorial Chess, Kushal Dey Jr. Champion

Caption: Chief Guest and Awadh ITI Principal Agni Shikha Verma with prize winners at the 3rd Sunita Verma Memorial Rapid Chess 2025 in Lucknow.

Lucknow’s top rated junior, Harshit Amarnani, won the 3rd Sunita Verma Memorial Chess Rapid a point ahead of a very strong field with 6.5/7 on Sunday. 

Veteran coach and senior player Arif Ali was runners-up with 5.5 points dropping a point to another veteran coach Sayeed Ahmad of the Lucknow Chess Centre. Five players tied for third place with five points each including Pawan Batham, Kuldeep Shankar, Anchal Rastogi, Sayeed Ahmad and Suchitra Tandon. Pawan took the trophy on a better tie-break. Following him was Kuldeep Shankar who works with the Parliament in New Delhi and was recently felicitated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for excellence in chess. 

Chief Guest and Awadh ITI Principal Agni Shikha Verma gave away the prizes to all the winners. Ms Verma is a philanthropist, yoga practitioner and well known for her social contribution in supporting especially women and the underprivileged.

Another star of the tournament was eighteen-year-old Suchitra Tandon who made it to joint third despite being unrated.
Raghav Awasthi and Abhigyan Katiyar 4 points each won the under 16 rated section.

Hrothbertina Hilton was the best woman player with 3 points. The best senior citizen players were RP Gupta with 4 points and Kamalesh Kumar Kesharwani with 3.5 points.
All credit to eighteen-year-old Shabad Kesarwani for winning the Brave Beginner prize despite being an unrated player among top-rated players of the city.

Kushal Dey from Unchahar won the junior section with a fantastic 6/7, followed by Divyansh Singh 5.5/7.

Best Junior Girl prize went to nine-year-old Advika Tiwari.
Best children’s section checkmating combinations were by seven-year-old Atharv Sarin Shukla. 

Other Top Results
Under 10: 1st Advik Singhal 4.5 points, 2nd Kaustub Mishra 4 points
Under 13: 1st Aqib Jalil 5 points, 2nd Meer Shukla 4.5 points
Under 16: 1st Aadi Saxena 5.5 points, 2nd Daksh Arora 5 points

More photos in Facebook album (including newspaper clippings): https://www.facebook.com/share/15vRXLx3Tc/

Other News Links:

• https://theindianview.in/news_id/93676 

• https://sportsleak.in/harshit-wins-3rd-sunita-verma-memorial-rapid-chess-tournament-kushal-dey-junior-champion/ 

• https://nationalnewsvision.com/harshit-wins-3rd-sunita-verma-memorial-rapid-chess-tournament-kushal-dey-junior-champion/

• https://www.morningpoint.in/harshit-wins-3rd-nomination-verma-memorial-rapid-chess-tournament-kushal-dey-junior-champion/20958/ 

• https://www.hindusthansamachar.in//Encyc/2025/2/3/3rd-Sunita-Verma-Memorial-Rapid-Chess-Tournament.php 

• https://livevns.news/Sports/3rd-sunita-verma-memorial-rapid-chess-tournamentphp/cid16166165.htm

 

 

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Lucknow youngster Harshit stars in Prague Chess 2024, ties for 2nd place

Prague: Lucknow youngster Harshit Amarnani played some great chess at the Prague Chess Rapid 2024 to tie for second place with a fantastic score of 6/7 in an international field of more than a hundred strong players. His score included a win over Ukrainian Fide Master Artem Berin and four other wins plus two draws. His rapid rating goes up by 83 points.
That's not all! Harshit played back-to-back classical tournaments including Prague Chess Open 2024, Marienbad Chess Open, 2024, and Rudar FM IV Scheveningen - Pozarevac Serbia for a total gain of 117 rating points. Harshit also picked up 60 blitz rating points in Marienbad. This makes Harshit jump to the top 600 professional active players of India.
Harshit's coaches believe he has way to go considering the resilience and hard work he has displayed going from a ten-year-old kid with a zero in his first tournament. He is an inspiration for all at the club. In a quick chat, here are more words of wisdom from this star set to shine brighter and brighter in the years to come.

Q: Five back-to-back tournaments with no breathing space! Why did you choose to go though this grind?
Harshit: That's because this is what I like. Despite the challenges, there is no other grind I'd rather go through. One has to work hard in any profession.

Q: You've been playing for a decade. What do you feel about professional chess now compared to what you felt as a kid?

Harshit: As a kid, I did not know much about professional chess. As I've grown up, I've come to know more and more about it, the possible ups and downs as well as an idea of the kind of life it brings. I feel that professional chess makes you experience life in a very different way as compared to most other careers. All the travelling, interaction with new people and exploration of new places teaches you amazing things.

Q: Your advice to juniors in the below-teen category starting out on chess?
Harshit: I do not think I am in any position to give advice to pre-teen kids. All I can say to them is to have fun and enjoy the game whilst working hard at the same time. I can only repeat what Grandmaster RB Ramesh said in an online webinar which is that there are three possible results of a chess game - winning, drawing and learning.

Q: You started out when there was very little awareness about professional chess in Lucknow in 2014. You and your family had to navigate the lows of tournaments pretty much alone. How should parents help their children in chess?
Harshit: Parents play a huge role in my opinion. I feel they need to be extremely supportive at the start to let their child go and play pressure-free. Trusting the child and making them feel understood is also important with regard to the child's performance. In chess, one loses a lot. It's the quality and understanding of games that matters. Winnin starts many, many years later. I'm truly blessed in having a supportive family and coaches.

Q: All these years, how have you balanced chess and studies?
Harshit: Balancing chess and studies has been difficult but you gotta do what you gotta do. Till now also, I don't think I'm even decent at balancing both but I am trying to improve every day and I think that's what matters.

Q: What is your general chess training schedule?
Harshit: Generally, my training schedule comprises a good number of tactical positions mixed with practice games along with endgame and opening study. But, obviously, the specifications keep changing depending on the need of the situation.

Q: In chess, one loses a lot, much more than winning, particularly in the early years. How do you get over the lows and what has kept you motivated even now in college?
Harshit: I think you just learn; learn to handle losses and look at them from a different perspective. Initially it was very tough to cope with losses especially as a kid but that is when the support of your coach and parents comes into play. I do not make much of a conscious effort to get over the lows. I let time do the healing. I try and focus on the areas of improvement and how to better my game in every aspect.

Q: Tournaments require extensive travel and what with expensive training, how do you handle the financials?
Harshit: Until now, all financials of chess tournaments and training have been borne majorly by my family especially my parents who I am very grateful to. I can say that I have tried to chime in a bit via some active and passive sources of income that I have set up lately but it's mostly been my parents who've supported me in every way.

Q: What are your current chess plans for the immediate future?
Harshit: Plan is to give my best in whichever situation I am in. I do plan to play more tournaments but have not yet decided which ones.

Harshit is truly a wonderful chess youngster. We request all wishing to sponsor and support Harshit in his chess quest to email sponsor proposals directly. — Team CCBW

* The Czech Tour

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Harshit wins Silver in u1800 at Phuket Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open

Phuket: Talented Lucknow youngster, Harshit Amarnani, has won the second place in the u1800 Section at the Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open 2023 in Phuket, Thailand, this last week. The field was a tough one with top players from Australia, the US, Singapore, and several Asian countries. 

Lucknow's Harshit Amarnani receiving the second prize of 3,000 Baht in the u1800 Section at the Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open 2023 in Phuket, Thailand.

However, the youngster put himself through a tough back-to-back tournament schedule from June-end to July. 

First, it was the Prague International Chess Festival 2023 followed by the Sachovy Festival Ceske Budejovice in Czechoslovakia and then Phuket, Thailand. 

His notable games in Prague included a draw with Fide Master Daniel Barrish of South Africa and win over David Hak of Czechoslovakia. After playing in Prague for over a week, Harshit was back to the board right away at the Sachovy Festival Ceske Budejovice Open 2023 with notable games including a draw with Candidate Master Bruno Steiner of Austria and win over Alexander Oliver Mai of Iceland. 

It's tremendous hard work to play 26 rated tournament games within a month and notch up almost 100 Fide rating points. 

Harshit (third from left) with his hard-earned prize at the Blue Chevaliers International Chess Open 2023.

"The schedule was gruelling and I chose it, torturing my family more than myself," laughs Harshit, "But it was the best way to spend my college vacation. Unless one goes through the grind, one cannot expect improvement. I felt the extended international tournament exposure has given me valuable experience that will help me organise my further training. I'm still far from my goals."

Wise words from the humble and hard working youngster who is already one of the top-rated juniors in Uttar Pradesh. His Fide rating now jumps to 1878. 

An alumni of the Lucknow La Martiniere Boys' College, Harshit is currently studying Psychology and Entrepreneurship at the Ashoka University.

Harshit can be contacted for sponsorship via his Facebook page.

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