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Kathmandu, August 13 – Purushottam Silwal of South Western State College clinched the title at the First South Western State Inter-College Chess Tournament, held at the college's premises in Basundhara.

The two-day event featured 103 players from 40 colleges across Nepal. Silwal emerged victorious after scoring 6.5 points out of 9 rounds, securing the top spot in the highly competitive field.

Mishan Dahal of Birtamode College and Abhik Shah of St. Xavier’s College also scored 6 points each, but Dahal secured second place based on progressive points, pushing Shah to third.

The top three winners received cash prizes of NPR 50,000, 25,000, and 15,000, respectively.

Other top finishers were:

4. Sujan Kafle – Pulchowk Engineering College

5. Samyak Shrestha – Herald College

6. Rison Thapa – Birtamode College

7. Kushal Belbase – Softwarica College

8. Avin Pandey – BN Academy

9. Shubham Shrestha – St. Xavier’s College

10. Kashibh Karki

Positions 4 through 10 were awarded cash prizes ranging from NPR 10,000 to 3,000, based on rank.

In the women’s category, Kusum Ghising of The Chandbagh School secured first place and received NPR 10,000, while Riya Shrestha of Trinity College came second, earning NPR 5,000.

At the closing ceremony, winners were felicitated by Narottam Rana, Chairperson of Tokha Municipality Ward-7; Dr. Rajendra KC, Campus Chief of South Western; Vice Principal Hari Singh KC; and International Relations Coordinator Sarita Shakya, among others.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. KC announced the establishment of a dedicated chess club at the college to promote the sport further. Champion Purushottam Silwal also pledged NPR 5,000 from his prize money to support the newly announced club.

The tournament marks a strong beginning for inter-college chess events in Nepal, drawing participation and attention from across the academic community.