ADDING another feather to the cap, Nagpur-born chess prodigy Raghav Pathak clinched a silver in Blitz World Championship to become World Number Two in blitz chess in Under-8 category. Raghav, representing The Netherlands in World Championships (Rapid and Blitz) held in, Rhodes, Greece, won five games, lost two and drew one to finish second with 6.5 points. He stood 6th in rapid category. The young lad, who is seeking online coaching from Abhishek Kelkar from Kunte Chess Academy, had won Dutch National Chess Championship in Under-7 category in 2021. Since he is U-7 National Champion of 2021 he was picked to represent the Dutch nation in the competition.

 

Raghav’s roots are from Nagpur as he was born in the city to Vilas Pathak and Rashmi. During the nine rounds of Blitz, Raghav defeated Rapid title winner Ashwath Kaushik of India, in round two and Blitz champion Kushal Jakhria of Canada in round five. Raghav, a student of VAS Chess Club, Amsterdam, also participated in nationals in U-10, team chess (group of 4) U-10, 12 and 14 for 2021. The promising kid was representing the region of Greater Amsterdam. He played his first FIDE, World Chess Federation, match at the age of 7 and secured 8th position in the world in September, 2021. Currently, he is preparing for National Championships-2022 in U-7, U-8 and U-9 age categories to be held in June.