To the delight of everyone, K. Jennitha Anto of India became the World chess champion for the disabled after winning the 13th IPCA World women’s individual championship at Velke Losiny in Czech Republic. The tournament ushered 49 physically challenged players from 15 countries.
Originally hailing from Tamil Nadu, Jennitha scored 4.5 points in nine rounds following winning 3, drawing 3 and losing 3 games. She contended in a combined group with men and emerged to be the highest scorer among the woman players and was finally awarded the IPCA women’s title.
Notably, two Russian women finished tied with Jennitha on points but a higher score aided her to win the title. Actually, the accomplishment was more special for Jennitha as she became a Woman International Master (WIM) too. The new WIM title would propel her direct entry into many National events for women, excluding the premier tournament.
Remarkably, Jennitha is a wheel-chair player, who participated in the FIDE A Category where almost all the players were international rated players. Nearly 9 title holders, 5 IMs, 1 FM, 1 WFM and 2 WCM’s took part in this championship. More than 25 wheel-chair players participated in the tournament too.
