The Nepal Chess Federation has selected five male and five female players to represent Nepal at the 46th Chess Olympiad organized by the World Chess Federation. The national chess competition held in Damak, Jhapa, concluded with Rupesh Jaiswal winning the open category and Kritisara Adhikari securing the title in the women’s category. These selections pave the way for Nepal’s 10-player team to compete in the Olympiad scheduled for September this year in Uzbekistan.
In the open category, champion Rupesh scored 9.5 points out of 11 games, while women’s champion Kritisara achieved 8.5 points. The 26th Open and 11th Women’s National Chess Championships were held on June 19 at Hotel Kamaksha in Damak. The event was organized by the Nepal Chess Federation in collaboration with the Provincial Sports Development Board, Koshi Province, and the District Chess Association of Jhapa.
Defending his title, FM Rupesh Jaiswal from Rautahat scored 9.5 points in 11 games, thereby securing the open category championship for a third time. He drew his last game against CM Sushrut Dahal. Young talent Ashish Phuyal from Dolakha finished second with 7.5 points, followed by former Nepal Champion Rajan Subedi in third place with 7 points. Using tiebreaks for the same score of 7 points, CM Sushrut Dahal from Jhapa ranked fourth, CM Purushottam Silwal from Kathmandu fifth, and Rishon Thapa from Panchthar secured the sixth position.
In the women’s category, Kritisara Adhikari of Jhapa exhibited an outstanding performance to become the national women’s champion with 8.5 points. Jhapa’s Puja Bhandari stood second with 7.5 points, while Nihana Shrestha of Dolakha secured third place with 7 points. Angel Maharjan, also with 7 points, ranked fourth based on tiebreak criteria. After playing tiebreaks such as direct encounter and Sonneborn-Berger, Binita Kapali from Kathmandu, former Oman Nepal champion Sindira Joshi, and Priya Kshetri from Jhapa tied with 6.5 points, with Kapali placing sixth.
According to federation member Raju Tamrakar, the selected male players for the 46th Chess Olympiad are FM Rupesh Jaiswal, Ashish Phuyal, Rajan Subedi, CM Sushrut Dahal, and CM Purushottam Silwal. The female team consists of former champion Sindira Joshi, Kritisara Adhikari, Puja Bhandari, Nihana Shrestha, and Angel Maharjan.
