CHENNAI: Women Candidate Master (WCM) Sharvaanica AS secured third place in the Girls’ Under-10 category at the recently concluded FIDE World Cup held in Georgia.

The competition went down to the wire in the seventh round, with just one point separating Tamil Nadu’s Sharvaanica and WCM Divi Bijesh. Their final-round match ended in a draw, placing Sharvaanica behind Divi in the Group B standings.

Sharvaanica then faced the runner-up from Group A, Volkova Nadezhda, in a play-off match and defeated her to clinch third place.

Her only loss came in the second round against fellow Indian Vanshika Rawat. During the group stage, she registered wins against opponents including Kazakhstan’s Zhetpis Symbat and India’s Kiyana Parihar.

With this podium finish, Sharvaanica has qualified to represent India at the FIDE World Cadet Championships, scheduled to be held in September this year.