Gangtok A team became the runners-up of the 19th National Cities Team Chess Championship held from August 1 to 5 at Siliguri in West Bengal.
It is a great matter of pride for the chess fraternity of the State that by finishing at the second position, Gangtok A team has also been qualified to represent the country in the upcoming Asian Cities Chess Tournament.
Gangtok A team has Sushmita Lama, Rohit Gurung, Rahul Gurung, Thendup Tamang and Suraj Gupta as team members.
Three teams of Sikkim Chess Association (SCA), having five players in each group, had represented Sikkim in this National Cities Team Chess Championship.
Gangtok B team comprises Urgan Thinlay Sherpa, Rick Gupta, Chewang Dorjee Bhutia, Anusha Chhetri and Yangchen Lama, while Prakhar Dhangar, Panshul Dhangar, Aradhya Raj Pokhrel, Shaurya Srivastava and Abhiraj Parajuli were in Gangtok C team.
The State team was accompanied by Sikkim Chess Association general secretary, Mahendra Dhakal, as team manager.
Speaking to media persons in Gangtok on Tuesday, Dhakal informed that 32 teams from different parts of the country had participated in this national championship.
He informed that only top two teams in the championship have been qualified for the upcoming Asian Cities Chess Tournament.
He added that the date and venue has not been fixed yet for Asian Cities Tournament.
“It is a big achievement by local players of Sikkim and it is a great honour for them to represent India in the Asian Championship,” Dhakal expressed.
He informed that Sikkimese players were representing the country for the first time.
He also said that Gangtok B and Gangtok C had also performed in this team championship and every player has improved their rating in the championship.
He informed that Gangtok A team members have already started their preparations for the upcoming Asian Championship.