KOLKATA: City boy Sarbartho Mani added another feather to his cap by claiming the National Under-11 chess championship that concluded in Mangalore on Saturday.The 11-year-old Mani enjoyed an unbeaten run finishing with 10.5 points, one point ahead of second-placed Sattwik Swain.“It was a tough tournament as even some lower-rated players played very strong chess. There’s still room for improvement but overall I am satisfied with my performance,” Mani told TOI from Mangalore. This was Mani’s second age-group title after he was crowned the national U-7 champion in 2023.Seeded second in this tournament, Mani had a smooth run winning 10 matches and drawing against top seed Advik Amit Agrawal (2376 Elo). He even tried out different openings to gain experience.The youngster rated his last-round game as the most satisfying. “I enjoyed the game against Kerala’s Devanarayanan Kalliyath. I felt I played good chess throughout,” stated Mani, who won silver in the U-10 Open section of the World Cadet Cup in Batumi, Georgia, two months back.Mani, currently training at Chola Chess under GM RB Ramesh and WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy and at DBCA in the city, will gain a whopping 19.5 Elo rating points from this victory. “I had reached 2300 Elo points previously, but now my rating has fallen to 2273. I hope this time I will be able to consolidate my position on the Elo table,” Mani said, with his sights now set on an International Master title.
