Rucha Pujari

Rucha Pujari (born 2 July 1994) is an Indian chess player. She is currently a Woman International Master[1] and was previously awarded the title of Woman FIDE Master[2] in 2006.

Rucha Pujari
Rucha Pujari in 2013
Country India
Born (1994-07-02) 2 July 1994
Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
TitleWoman International Master (2017) Woman FIDE Master (2006)
FIDE ratingRucha Pujari rating card at FIDE
Peak rating2268 (July 2019)
Twitch information
Also known asRuchess27
Channel
Years active2020–present
GenreChess live streaming and education
Games

Early years

Rucha was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. She took interest in the game of chess at the age of six and learnt the first moves from her elder brother. Her talent for this game was recognized when she won her first national championship at the age of seven. She showed remarkable success in her early years and later on chose the field of chess as her career.

Chess career

World events

Pujari has represented India in four World Youth Chess Championships (2005: U-12 girls category held in France, 2009: U-16 girls category held in Antalya-Turkey,[3] 2010: U-16 girls category held in Greece, 2012: U-18 girls category held in Slovenia[4]).

She also represented India in one of the major global chess event World Junior Chess Championship twice which were held in Kocaeli, Turkey in 2013[5] and Pune, India in 2014.[6]

Asian events

Pujari played her first Asian event when she was nine years old. She represented India in the Asian Youth U-10 Girls Championship which was held in Calicut in the year 2003, where she won a silver medal.[7] Next year she went on to win gold medal in the same event, which was held in Singapore. Along with her individual medal, India also won team gold medal in that event and Pujari claimed the title of Woman FIDE Master (WFM).[8] In 2005, Asian Youth Chess Championship was held in New Delhi, where Pujari secured 7th position in U-12 girls category.

Rucha Pujari with her collection of medals from National, Asian, Commonwealth and World events

In the year 2009, she achieved silver medal in Asian Youth U-16 Girls Championship which was held in New Delhi.[9][10] Next year she secured bronze medal in the same event, which was held in Beijing, China.[11] Team India won the gold medal in that event.

Her most notable achievement is winning the Asian Youth U-18 Girls Chess Championship which was held in Philippines in the year 2011.[12] In 2012, she secured 6th rank in Asian Youth U-18 Girls Chess Championship held in Sri Lanka. In total, Pujari has represented India in seven Asian Youth Chess Championships in different categories, winning two gold, two silver and one bronze medal.

In 2012, Pujari was qualified to play in Asian Junior Girls Chess Championship which was held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She performed well, but was defeated in the final game, leaving her with a bronze medal.[13][14] She achieved her second Woman International Master norm in that tournament. She also secured another bronze medal in the Asian Junior Girls Blitz Chess Championship, which was organised after the classic event.[15] In 2013, she represented India in Asian Junior Girls Chess Championship held in Sharjah, UAE where she secured 7th position.[16]

Commonwealth events

Rucha has participated in four Commonwealth Chess Championships, in which she has achieved one gold, two silver and one bronze medal in different categories (2003– Mumbai Silver in U-10 girls, 2004– Mumbai Bronze in U-12 girls, 2006– Mumbai Gold in U-12 girls,[17] 2010– New Delhi Silver in U-16 girls category).

She also participated in Commonwealth U-16 Championship which was held in Singapore in the year 2009, where she secured fifth position.[18]

National events

Pujari played her first National Championship tournament in the year 2001. She participated in the National U-7 Girls Championship which was held at Chennai, and went on to win the tournament claiming her first national title.[19]

In 2008, Pujari won a silver medal in the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship held in Mangalore.[20] The next year she went on to become the National Sub-Junior Chess Champion in Mumbai.

WFM Rucha Pujari after winning 37th National Women Challengers Chess Championship 2010 in Guwahati.

In August 2010, when aged sixteen, Pujari won one of the biggest tournaments in India – The National Women Challengers Chess Championship held in Guwahati.[21][22]

In the National Junior Chess Championship held in Goa in 2011, Pujari won the runners-up trophy.[23] One of Pujari's notable achievements came in 2012 when she participated in 27th National Junior Girls Chess Championship held in Ajmer, Rajasthan. Seeded fourth, she scored 9/11 and became the champion, thus claiming her fourth national title so far.[24][25] Next year in National Junior Girls Championship held at Lucknow, she again scored 9 points out of possible 11, but this time tied for the first place. She was declared runner-up on tie break.[26] Pujari has also participated in National School Championships. In 2007, her team secured the gold medal in the U-14 girls category, in a tournament held at Tirupati. In Feb 2009, the School Nationals were held in Guntur, where her team won a silver medal in the U-17 girls category.

Apart from these, Pujari also took part in National Women's Team Championship which was held in Hyderabad in 2013. Her team PSPB won the bronze medal, while she was awarded a silver medal for her individual performance on the top board.[27]

Other major tournaments

Pujari has represented India in several international tournaments such as Villa De Sort Open Championship (2009, Spain), Ciutat de Balaguer Championship (2009, Spain), Villa De Benasque Championship (2009, Spain), Moscow Open A Tournament (2013, Russia),[28] 2nd Grand Europe Open (2013, Bulgaria)[29] among few. She claimed her third international norm in Aeroflot Open (B) 2017 at Moscow, Russia and earned the title of Woman International Master.[30]

She has won the Nutan Buddhibal Mandal's Women Open FIDE Rating Tournament, held in Sangli, six times (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015). Along with this she also claimed the NBM - Sangli's Men Open Rating Tournament in May 2015 and was the first ever female to do so.

Pujari has twice participated in the Maharashtra Chess League, which is held in Pune. In 2013, she played for the team Ahmednagar Checkers, which went on to secure third place in the tournament. In 2014, Pujari was part of the team Jalgaon Battlers, which eventually went on to win the second edition of the League.[31][32]

Other activities: Chess promotion and Writing
Pujari playing against 38 players in a simultaneous chess exhibition in Kolhapur, May 2014

Pujari actively takes part in promoting chess through talks, events and short coaching sessions.[33] She has played and demonstrated several simultaneous chess matches during various events. She played a promotional simultaneous chess exhibition in May 2014 organized by Bank of Maharashtra wherein thirty eight players entered the event to compete. She won thirty six games while two games ended in a draw.[34]

Since January 2014, Pujari is also writing weekly sports column in Marathi newspaper Maharashtra Times describing the life of a sportsperson.[35][36]

She is a prominent writer for popular chess blog and website ChessAce[37][38] and also maintains her personal blog RuChess. She is also an author for a book titled Beautiful Puzzles.[39]

References
  1. "Kolhapur's chess star Rucha Pujari is now an Woman International Master". Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  2. "Rucha Pujari awarded Women Fide Master (WFM) title". Retrieved 21 August 2006.
  3. "Final Ranking List: World Youth Chess Championship 2009". Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  4. "Twenty five Indians in full score at Slovenia". AICF. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  5. "Rucha's notable game from World Junior Chess Championship 2013". ChessBomb. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  6. "China's Lu Shanglei crowned World Junior Chess Champ". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  7. "Asian Youth Chess: Indians reap a rich harvest in Calicut". Sportstar. Retrieved 5 July 2003.
  8. "Asian Youth Girls 2004 U-10 Final Ranking List". chess-results.com. Retrieved 17 December 2004.
  9. "Maharashtra's Rucha Pujari won silver at the Asian Youth Chess Championship in New Delhi". DNA India. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  10. "Indians dominate Asian Youth Chess, top seven of 12 categories". Thaindian News. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  11. "China, India Dominate Asian Youth in Beijing". FIDE. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  12. "Asian Youth Chess Championship 2011– Girls Under 18 Final ranking". chess-results.com. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  13. "Asian Junior Chess: Pujari wins Bronze". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  14. "Asian Junior Chess Championship wraps up in Tashkent". UzDaily. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  15. "Indians Dominate Asian Juniors and Girls in Uzbekistan". FIDE. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  16. "Asian Junior Championship 2013 @ Sharjah- Final Ranking". chess-results.com. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  17. "Nigel Short wins Commonwealth Championship". ChessBase. Retrieved 12 October 2006.
  18. "Commonwealth Championship Open U-20/U-16 Tournament Report". FIDE. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  19. Manuel Aaron (1 January 2002). "Andhra kids rule the roost". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  20. "Aditya Udeshi and Bharathi Emerge Triumphant". Outlook. Mangalore. 4 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  21. "Rucha crowned National Women Challengers Champion". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  22. "Rucha wins National Women Challengers Champion". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  23. "Pujari in sole lead, Bhakti held at Margao". Zee News. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  24. "Rucha wins 27th National Junior Girls Chess Championship" (PDF). AICF Chronicle. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  25. "Pujari wins 27th National Junior Girls Chess Championship". Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  26. "Meet National Junior U-19 Chess Championship-2013 winners". Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  27. "Air India becomes National Women Team Chess Champion in India". Chessdom. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  28. "Moscow Open A 2013 Tournament Report of WFM Rucha Pujari". chess-results.com. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  29. "Grand Europe Open Golden Sands Tournament Archive". FIDE. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  30. "S.L. Narayanan, Nihal Sarin and Rucha Pujari shine at the Aeroflot Open". ChessBase India. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  31. "Jalgaon Battlers wins Maharashtra Chess League 2014". ChessBase. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  32. "Jalgaon Battlers wins 2nd edition of Maharashtra Chess League". News4City. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  33. "Train your chess with Rucha Pujari". ChessBase India. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  34. "ऋचा पुजारीचा एकाच वेळी ३६ पटांवर विजय". Sakal (in Marathi). 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  35. "Sportslife Metro: Rucha Pujari article week 29 (खेळाची माहिती घेऊन मते बनवा)". Maharashtra Times (in Marathi). 17 July 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  36. "Sportslife Metro: Rucha Pujari article week 11 ('त्या' ट्रॉफीमागची गोष्ट)". Maharashtra Times (in Marathi). 13 May 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  37. "A page from my diary - Rucha Pujari". ChessAce. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  38. "A preview of World Chess Championship by Rucha Pujari". ChessAce. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  39. "Beautiful Puzzles: e-Book by Rucha Pujari". ChessBase India. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
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