Suhaani wins U-14 MSSA chess title

Dhirubhai Ambani’s Suhaani Lohia

Suhaani Lohia, 12, of Dhirubhai Ambani International School (Bandra) clinched her fourth consecutive gold medal by winning the girls' under-14 crown in the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) chess tournament at St Sebastian High School hall in Chembur on Wednesday.

Suhaani, India's second-youngest Women Candidate Master, with an international FIDE rating of 1477, had won her first gold in the MSSA under-10 event and won the yellow metal twice in the under-12 competition. Making her debut in the under-14 category, she went on to add the gold to her impressive collection of medals and trophies.

Suhaani, who is currently the third-ranked Indian in the under-13 category, dropped only half a point when she was held to a draw by Freeyah Golia, who played with white pieces in the sixth and final round. She finished with a tally of 5.5 points and went on to complete another success story.

"It feels very nice to play chess on a physical chessboard. After almost two years I was touching the pieces on the board and it was really good playing face-to-face with your opponent. During the lockdown, I have participated in online competitions. But it's not good as you don't know who you are playing against and there can be a lot of cheating as well. So, I am glad to have finally got an opportunity to play real chess," remarked the Class VI student, who also enjoys playing the piano and football.

Sara Mody of Bombay Scottish School (Mahim) claimed the silver after finishing joint second with Heemanshi Tendulkar of Udayachal High School (Vikhroli), both finishing with 5 points each. However, Sara with better progressive scores, was declared winner of the silver, while Heemanshi was presented the bronze medal.