"I was happy with my performance, and I would like to focus on improving my game in the upcoming championships," says Harsha.įor someone who started playing chess as a hobby at the age of seven, the game is now a way of life for the five-time National Championship who’s completed his intermediate in Sai Chaitanya College. All said and done Harsha looks at the entire experience as a lesson to learn from. Also, everything was written in Spain, which made it even more difficult for me," says Harsha. What’s more, it rankled me that neither did the arbitrator apprised me nor was there any announcement made about the playoff after the final round concluded. "It was incredibly frustrating because after having played so well throughout the tourney, I couldn’t win it even though I believe I could have. It seems the playoff was to start immediately after the final (10th) round, and as I was unavailable, my opponent got a walk-over and I eventually finished second," recalls Harsha with a heavy heart.Īccepting the unexpected turn of events has not been easy for Harsha, who reveals that he even lost sleep over it. I am told my friends too tried calling me. "When I attended the prize distribution ceremony, I was told that the organisers tried contacting me because I had a playoff match because the standings between me and another player were equal. On his return to the stadium, Harsha found out that the championship had announced someone else as the victor. But little did he know that his excitement would be short lived. The Hyderabadi player, who assumed he’d won the championship, then stepped out of the stadium for a couple of hours to celebrate the joyous moments. The 19-year-old Harsha Bharathakoti is the second chess Grand Master from Telangana, who delivered a stellar performance at the International d'escacs de Sants in Spain, which was held between August 23 and September 1.Īfter 10 gruelling rounds, Harsha had stood first in the overall standings of the championship.
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