- Bhakti Juikar from Mumbai adjudged as
the winner and Tejas Arora
from Amritsar and Tonsen Mongwang from Dibrugarh,
Assam declared as first and second runner
up
New Delhi, January 17, 2009: NIIT MindChampions
Academy-Chess Master 2008, a joint initiative of NIIT, a leading Global Talent
Development Corporation and Asia’s No. 1 Trainer and World Chess Champion
Viswanathan Anand, witnessed a grand closing today. Sh. Jyotiraditya Scindia,
Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Communications and IT, Govt of India, joined
World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand, Mr. Rajendra S
Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Ltd., Padma Bhushan, Dr. (Mrs.) Shayama Chona, Principal,
DPS, R K Puram and Mr. Ashok Chandra, Chairman, DPS Society, as the Chief Guest
to give away prizes to the winners in a glittering ceremony held in the
Capital.
The winner trophy of NIIT MindChampions Academy- Chess Master 2008 was bagged
by Bhakti Juikar, a student from I E S V.N Sule School, Mumbai. While Tejas
Arora, a student from Springdale Senior Secondary School, Amritsar, Punjab was
adjudged as the 1st Runner-Up, Tonsen Mongwang, from Joypore H S School,
Dibrugarh, Assam was announced as the 2nd Runner-Up for the national level chess
contest.
At the award ceremony, Karthikeyan Murali, the International Fide Rated
Player with the rating of 1780, was also honoured. Karthikeyan Murali, the State
Champion during the year 2008 in the Under-11 age category was sponsored by the
MindChampions Academy for the All India Chess Finals at Ahmedabad in August 2008
and other competitions to improve his FIDE rating. Currently, he stands 40th out
of the 210 participant at the national level.
Sh. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Communications
and IT, recognized the commendable performance of the young MindChampions in the
game of Chess and encouraged them to continue to exhibit the same zeal and
brilliance. He said that the budding talent needs to be mentored and guided and
that NIIT MindChampions Academy is offering the aspiring young Chess players a
perfect platform to learn and grow.
According to Mr. Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Ltd., “Chess
improves academics and mental development. The NIIT MindChampions Academy will
popularize Chess in India’s Schools.”
The nationwide chess contest witnessed widespread participation by over
2,00,000 students from over 3400 Government and Private Schools spread across 24
states and Union Territories. The record participation was made possible due to
matches being played over the internet from district level onwards across the
nation. This allowed schools even from the remote areas where NIIT has been
working with state government schools as well as private schools to educate and
train the kids in use of ICT, to enroll for Chess Master 2008.
The grand finale of MindChampions Academy Chess Master 2008 saw winners from
North, East, West and South zones vying for the National Level Honour of Chess
Master 2008. The winners from the four zones also got an opportunity to play
simultaneous Chess with the World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand.
Felicitating the winners of NIIT MindChampions Academy- Chess Master 2008,
Viswanathan Anand said, “It is a proud feeling to see these young
children actively take part in NIIT MindChampions Academy-Chess Master 2008. I
congratulate the winners and wish them a bright future ahead.”
“I am confident that the excellence and determination that these
young children have displayed will help them perform well in academics as well.
It is heartening to see that NIIT MindChampions Academy has reached huge number
of children across the country to initiate them into the game of
Chess,” he added.
Launched in 2002 with an objective of initiating students into the world of
Chess, NIIT Mind Champions Academy has today fostered nearly 6351 chess clubs
with more than 7,45,000 students cumulatively since inception, as its members in
schools where NIIT offers computer education. World Chess Champion Vishwanathan
Anand has personally travelled to Agartala, Guwahati, Raipur, Patna, Hyderabad,
Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and other cities across India, spreading the message
and motivating the school students to start playing. NIIT MindChampions Academy
conducts an Annual Chess Tournament, known as Chess Master for these school
children across 16 states in the NIIT network. Chess Master 2008 was flagged
off by NIIT Mind Champion Viswanathan Anand in New Delhi and simultaneously in
11 other cities through NIIT Imperia’s Synchronous Learning Technology in May
last year.
About NIIT
NIIT, Asia’s No. 1 IT trainer and leading
Global Talent Development Corporation, offers learning and knowledge solutions
to over 5 million students across 40 countries.
Leading IT magazine
Dataquest has conferred upon NIIT, the Top IT Training Company Award 2008. Rated
among India’s Business Superbrands 2008, NIIT’s Individual Learning Business
offerings include industry-endorsed programs for students seeking careers in IT
- GNIIT, Integrated ANIIT for Engineers (IAE), and Advanced Technology Programs
for IT professionals.
NIIT offers turnkey IT integration program for schools. NIIT has provided
computer-based learning to over 9,500 government and private
schools.
For working professionals, NIIT Imperia, Centre for
Advanced Learning, offers Executive Management Education Programmes in
association with Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Ahmedabad, Indore and
Kolkata.
NIIT Institute of Finance Banking & Insurance
(IFBI), formed by NIIT with equity participation from ICICI Bank,
offers programs for individuals and corporates in Banking, Financial Services
and Insurance.
NIIT Uniqua, Centre for Process Excellence, addresses the
increasing demand for skilled workers in the business and technology services
industry by providing training programs in relevant areas. This is a part of
NIIT Institute of Process Excellence, a NIIT-Genpact venture.
NIIT’s Corporate Learning Solutions, offers integrated
learning solutions (including strategic consulting, learning design, content
development, delivery, technology, assessment and learning management) to
Fortune 500 companies, Universities, Technology companies, Training corporations
and Publishing houses.
Element K delivers learning
solutions for customers and partners through a tailored combination of catalog
learning products, technology, and services. The offerings include: vLab®:
hands-on labs, instructor-led courseware, comprehensive e-reference libraries,
technical journals, and KnowledgeHub™: hosted learning management platform.
NIIT together with Element K is now the first and the best choice for
comprehensive learning solutions, worldwide.
For media queries, please contact:
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Email: prateek.chatterjee@niit.com
or
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4293042
Email: shikha.kataria@niit.com or
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