Ivana Furtado Wins Award

From The Navhind Times Ivana wins Gulab award for best sportsperson NT NETWORK MARGAO - Goa’s young chess wonder, double U-8 world champ and Dempo’s Goodwill Ambassador Ivana Maria Furtado won the Gulab Award for best sportsperson for the year 2007 on Sunday. The award was received on Ivana’s behalf by her brother Keegan at Gomant Vidyaniketan, here. Mr Eduardo Faleiro, Commissioner for NRI Affairs was the chief guest. Meanwhile, two-time world under-8 girls champion Ivana Furtado, who is presently competing for the title at Asian Youth chess championships in Tehran (iran), also remained in joint lead in the under-10 girls after compatriot M Mahalakshmi proved equal to her in a keenly contested game. Both the Indian girls now have 3.5 points apiece and continue to be atop the table with five more rounds to go. ************************************************************************************ Report on Ivana Furtado at the Asian Youth chess championship from The Press Trust of India: From our chess correspondent Tehran (Iran), July 20 (PTI) Twice world under-8 girls chess champion Ivana Furtado faltered and went down to compatriot G K Monnisha while M Mahalakshmi continued to roll in the under-10 girls section of the Asian Youth chess championships now in progress here. With just two rounds to come in the 9-rounds event, Mahalakshmi emerged as the sole leader on 6.5 points out of a possible 7 and now enjoys a huge 1.5 points lead over nearest rivals. Barring a debacles, Mahalakshmi's gold is confirmed. After losing her 5th round game against compatriot Swetty Patel, Ivana Furtado lost her second successive game to remain on 4.5 points. The Goan girl who holds a unique record in the world championships, will now have to wait for the Asian title till next year.

India's Ivana Furtado to Play at Asian Youth Chess Championship

From the Navhind Times Sunday July 13, 2008 Ivana for Tehran, Singapore NT NETWORK PANAJI - Dempo Goodwill Ambassador, Ivana Maria Furtado, double world and Asian Under-8 chess champion will leave for Iran on Monday to represent India at Asian youth chess championship to be held in Tehran from July 15-22. Ivana is the current Under-8 title holder having also won the silver and the bronze in 2006 and 2005 respectively at the same championship. After her event in Teheran, Ivana will proceed to Singapore for the 4th world chess under-9 girls championship from July 23-31. By virtue of being the Under-9 Asian schools chess champion, Ivana has earned the right to participate in the event. Ivana will be accompanied by her coach, Dronacharya awardee Raghunandan Gokhale at both places. Meanwhile, Ivana and her parents Jennifer and Eli, have expressed their deep gratitude to Mr Shrinivas V Dempo, chairman and managing director of Dempo Group of Companies for the magnanimous gesture in naming her as the 2nd Dempo Goodwill Ambassador which will support her participation and coaching at higher level so that she can achieve her dream, they stated. They pointed out that this was the first of its kind and magnitude.

Young Chess Phenom Ivana Furtado Continues to Dominate

From the NavHind Times Sunday, July 6, 2008 Ivana continues to dominate NT NETWORK PANAJI - Young queen under-8 double world girls champion Ivana Furtado continued to steal the show winning both the rounds to tally 4 out of 4 on the second day of state U-11 chess tournament at Vasco today. Ivana playing with white pieces defeated Neharika Tapadia. She won in 38 moves. In the 4th round Ivana, playing white, defeated Riya Sawant in 69 moves in queen pawn cambridge spring variation. Urvi Bandekar playing against Gauri Hadkonkar who recently came 12th in the national under-11 girls played the Ruy Lopez with the white pieces. But on the 11th move, Urvi playing an inferior move h3 was punished by Gauri. Urvi held on bravely fighting hard to salvage the game. But in a long battle lasting 67 moves Urvi was beaten. Other results at the end of girls 4th round: Varshista Reddy (3) defeated Pranali Desai (2); Vidula Dempo (3) defeated Sonali Kerkar; Niharika Tapadia (3) defeated Sakhsi Naik(2); Shivani Bekhi (3) defeated Apurva Naik (2) and Braganza Lisel (3) defeated Aishwarya Thorat (2). Tomorrow will be the girls 5th round. Ivana will be playing Gauri Hadkonkar.

Whiz Kid Furtado Back in the News

From The Navhind Times Ivana, Anirudh win U-9 crowns NT Sports Reporter Margao, Feb 5 Double World Under-8 champion Ivana Furtado created another record by winning the state Under-9 chess championships for the third consecutive time at BPS Club, Margao. In the last round Ivana beat Gauri Hadkonkar to finish with a perfect score of 5 out of 5 matches and Gauri had to remain content with the second place in a keenly contested event. Ivana was felicitated on the occasion by reputed table tennis coach Subodh Shevde and presented a cash award as well. She will now represent Goa along with 4 other girls - Gauri Hadkonkar (4), Riya Sawant (4), Saloni Bandekar (4) and Sakshi Prabhu (3) - in the upcoming national U-9 girls chess championship to be played in New Delhi from April 28. Riya Sawant, who stood in the top 10 in two National Championships in the same year, was also felicitated and was given a cash award. In the boys section, it was Anirudh Bhat of Margao with 6 points who stood first after drawing with Ritviz Parab in the crucial last round. Anirudh built up a strong position and actually was slightly better when Ritviz offered him a draw. He gleefully accepted as he knew that half a point was suffice to give him the title. The boys team that will represent Goa in the upcoming nationals includes Anirudh Bhat, Ritviz Parab (5.5), Saish Bandodkar (5.5) and Snehil Shetty (5). The tournament was jointly organised by Curchorem Chess Club and BPS Sports Club. Santosh George, who is the secretary of BPS Sports Club, was the chief guest. Dattaram Pinge and Avinash Malvankar were the chief arbiters and Standrik Colaco did the pairings. Incidentally, both the winners Ivana and Anirudh - are being coached by Dronacharya awardee Raghunandan Gokhale.

The "8" and the "90"

Two-time winner of the Girls' Under-8 World Chess Championship, Ivana Furtado, went head to head with 90 year old Indian chess icon Bahusaheb Padasalgikar! The Navhind Times Ivana draws with Padasalgikar NT Sports Desk Panaji, Jan 29 Double world champ Ivana Maria Furtado drew with veteran Padasalgikar, who is considered the father of chess in India in an exhibition chess match organised by Taleigao Chess Academy and International Centre Goa at Dona Paula. The battle went for over 3 hours and Ivana could not convert her slight exchange advantage even tough Bhau had a better space advantage. Finally, Ivana agreed for a draw with bishop and a pawn against Bhau’s two separated pawns. “Improve your middle game,” was the veteran’s advice to the world champ. Earlier, ninety-year-old Bahusaheb Padasalgikar from Nutan Buddhibal Mandal, Sangli, released a souvenir entitled ‘The Right Move’ containing articles on chess and education edited by Mr Shrikant Barve. Mr Manish Kamble, President of Taleigao Chess Academy welcomed and Mr Shrikant Barve, secretary of Taleigao Chess Academy proposed the vote of thanks. Street plays on “Changes in our schooling over the years” were presented by Little Lamb Primary School, Taleigao and Vidhya Vikas Academy, Margao was enacted. Dr S S Thigale, director Symbiosis, Pune, spoke on diploma in chess introduced by their institution in a discussion “Chess and Education”. Other panellist included Prof Augusto Pinto, of Dempo College of Commerce and Economis and vice-president, Goa State Chess Association and Prof S U Kamat of Dempe College. Prof Anil Samant of Saraswat Vidyalaya, Mapusa, Prof Vasundhara Varkhedkar of Dempe College, and Mr Ganesh Manerikar interacted with the parents of chess students. Umang Kaisare of Sharada Mandir, Mira Mar played simultaneous games against 24 students and won all games except one. The game against Aniruddha Bhat from Child Care School, Margao ended in a draw. In the lightning chess tournament for eight invitees, Vasant Naik proved his skills against young promising players like Anurag Mhamal, Umang Kaisery and won all four games. The major attraction was the primary school students chess tournament. It was held in eight categories for Std I to Std IV, boys and girls separately. In all, 310 children from 55 schools took part and included one from West Bengal, 3 from Kolhapur, 3 from Pune and 4 from Mumbai. Anurag Mhamal (185 Elo points) and Cyrus Pereira were awarded special trophies for their achievements. Winners: Dempo S S Vidula, Sharada Mandir School, Panaji: Sawant Riya, St Hadkonkar Gauri, OL Rosary School, D Paula; Pandit P Dhanashree, N E SP school, Bhandup, Mumbai; Advait Karmalkar, Mumbai; Parab B Ritviz, Vidya Vikas Academy, Margao; Bhat V Anirudh, Child Care School, Margao; Mohanan Harikrishnan, Ezekiel Methodist School, Bambolim.

Honey, We ALL Need Money...

Chess prodigy Ivana Furtado needs money power Pramod Acharya / CNN-IBN Published on Fri, Dec 07, 2007 at 12:37 Panjim: Goa's Ivana Furtado is the youngest world chess champion and she is already working steadily to overtake the other big-wigs of the game. Equally at ease with her playmates as with the 64 squares, eight-year-old Ivana Furtado is a special talent and if you take a numeric test, she'll come out to be one of the sharpest at her age in the world. Her cute smile hides the razor sharp mind of the undisputed World Junior Chess Champion. "I am very, very happy as I have won the world championship. I want to become Grand Master in future," Ivana Furtado, World Junior Chess Champion, says. The little champ made her school proud by pocketing two world championships, one Asian title and two World School gold medals. And though she looks good to catch up with the seniors soon, it's the financial backing that needs to keep pace with her rapid rise. "There is still not enough financial support from authorities. Authorities will have to look at children like Ivana and the laurels that they are earning and support them for their bright future in the sports," Eli Furtado, father of Ivana, says. For now though, she's gunning for Koneru Humpy's crown. ********************************************************************************** The person who wrote this article did Furtado no favors. I found its tone is arrogant and insulting, to say the least. "Gunning for Humpy's crown"? Methinks the little girl has to grow a couple of shoe sizes and put in a hell of a lot more work before she can take on Humpy, who has paid her dues on her way to becoming the second highest rated female player in the world. Mr. Furtado might want to consider getting a better-paying job than looking for hand-outs to support his daughter's chess-playing. We ALL need money, and there are lots of other worthy young chessplayers out there looking for financial support too. Finally, the little girl is NOT "undisputed World Junior Chess Champion." She won a division championship title for her age group and is one of several "world champion" title holders from the Juniors and Girls "World Championship."

Ivana Furtado Under 8 Girls World Chess Champion

Impressive - and great for chess in India. Goa’s Chess prodigy Ivana retains world title BY SPORTS REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 28 – There is no stopping Ivana Furtado. After securing a place in the Limca Book of Records for being India’s youngest world champion, Ivana added another feather to her cap by retaining the World Girls under-8 chess title at Antalya, Turkey. On Wednesday, Ivana – playing with black pieces — kept her cool and played the all-important draw with Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan) to retain her title. She secured nine points from a maximum of 11 after winning eight games, drawing two and losing one. Ivana now becomes only the third girl after Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika to win more than one world age group title. Ivana’s title triumph in distant Antalya was received with a thunderous applause right from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. World champion Viswanathan Anand was among the first to congratulate Goa’s child prodigy. The World Champion hailed the triumph and said he was delighted that there was one more age group world champion. “I was in contact with Ivana Furtado and was supposed to have played a simultaneous in Goa but could not make it,” Anand said on the AICF’s official website, before continuing, “I am happy for her win and wish her well.” Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said Ivana’s amazing success at Antalya will be a great motivator for youngsters in Goa. “I am sure Ivana’s triumph will inspire many others,” said Digambar. Goa State Chess Association President Sameer Salgaoncar attributed Ivana’s success to her coach Dronacharya awardee Raghunandan Gokhale, her family and GSCA.

Chess Queen on Cloud Nine!

From the Goa (India) Herald online edition, September 1, 2007: Ivana Furtado could not stop smiling late on Friday evening. Goa’s chess queen, who won the under-8 Asian Youth chess championship title in Al Ain (UAE) a couple of days ago, arrived at the Karmali station this evening and was besieged by a battery of journalists, both from the print and electronic media. Ivana, India’s youngest World Champion, smiled all along and seemed to bask in the attention. But amidst all the congratulatory notes, Ivana could not say much. “I am very, very happy,” was all that Ivana told waiting reporters after much prodding. “She speaks very little,” Ivana’s father Eli later told Herald even as the electronic media pressed for a sound byte. In Al Ain, Ivana was at her best as she worked her way to the top. Even a second round upset at the hands of Mongolian girl Uran-Erdene in just 22 moves did not deter her. Ivana’s next assignment is the World Youth Chess Championship in Turkey, starting November 17. And the chess prodigy has set her eyes firmly on retaining the title she won last year in Georgia. “Now it gets more and more difficult,” Eli told this paper. “Ivana’s games are on the internet. Her moves are well documented and opponents can plan games against her,” he continued. Sameer Salgaoncar, president of the Goa State Chess Association, has no doubts that Ivana can snatch the world title from right under everyone’s nose. “She is dedication personified putting in seven to eight hours of training everyday. Her coach Raghunath Gokhale is a Dronacharya awardee and among the best brains in the business,” disclosed Sameer. Ivana has now won a record eight international titles since December, 2005. Amongst others, Sports Authority of Goa Executive Director V M Prabhudessai, Director of Coaching Brahmanand Shankwalkar and GSCA secretary Suhas Asnodkar were present at the station. ************************************************************************************* Good luck to Ivana. What an interesting name - "Ivana" sounds Russian or Eastern European; "Furtado" sounds Spanish or Portuguese. And she lives in and plays for India. Wow!