Rajan Subedi and Sindira Joshi emerged as the winners of the Nepal Championship 2024 (open and women’s sections, respectively).
The Nepal Chess Championships 2024 took place from June 1-6, 2024, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Both tournaments were 12-player round robins with classical time control.
The open tournament was a fierce battle (neither player completed the event unbeaten), with Rajan Subedi, Shushrut Dahal and Kshitij Bhandari fighting for the top spot most of the way. Going into the final round a half-point ahead of his closest rivals, Rajan defeated Prem Krishna Maharjan to clinch the title.
Shushrut and Kshitij also won their games and finished a half point behind the champion, tying for second place. Silver goes to Shushrut Dahal thanks to a superior Sonneborn-Berger.
Final standings open:
1 | Subedi, Rajan | 1959 | 8 | |
2 | AIM | Dahal, Sushrut | 1961 | 7½ |
3 | FM | Bhandari, Kshitiz | 2085 | 7½ |
4 | Nepal, Prakash Chandra | 1951 | 6½ | |
5 | Silwal, Purushottam | 2112 | 6 | |
6 | FM | Jaiswal, Rupesh | 2055 | 6 |
7 | Maharjan, Suroj | 1917 | 5 | |
8 | CM | Lama, Milan | 2038 | 4½ |
9 | Chaudhary, Sushil | 1895 | 4½ | |
10 | CM | Shrestha, Keshav | 1970 | 3½ |
11 | Maharjan, Prem Krishna | 1923 | 3½ | |
12 | Karki, Rajiv | 1813 | 3½ |
The women’s tournament was dominated by Sindira Joshi who scored impressive 9/11 and captured the title with a round to spare, despite losing two games. Kritisara Adhikari pulled off a crucial victory over the champion in the final round and finished just a half-point behind, taking silver.
Pooja Bhandari and Shanti Dhimal both netted 8/11 and tied for third place, with the former winning bronze thanks to the victory in their direct encounter.
Final standings women:
1 | Joshi, Sindira | 1685 | 9 |
2 | Adhikari, Kritisara | 1746 | 8½ |
3 | Bhandari, Pooja | 1683 | 8 |
4 | Dhimal, Shanti | 1672 | 8 |
5 | Shrestha, Riya | 1629 | 7½ |
6 | Kapali, Binita | 1651 | 7½ |
7 | Gurung, Sushila | 1611 | 4½ |
8 | Prasain, Punam | 1558 | 4½ |
9 | Prajapati, Anshu Dil | 3½ | |
10 | Guja, Sabina | 2½ | |
11 | Kibanayo, Prashna | 2½ | |
12 | Duwal, Shresha | 0 |
The Nepal Championships 2024 served as qualifiers for the national teams for the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Vivek Thing, Rupesh Jaiswal, Rajan Subedi, Shushrut Dahal and Kshitij Bhandari have been selected for men’s team. The women’s team will consist of Sujana Lohani, Sindira Joshi, Kritisara Adhikari, Pooja Bhandari and Shanti Dhimal.
Photo: Raju Tamrakar