KATHMANDU: Nepal’s hope of claiming the girls’ championship ended abruptly after Shanta Thapa lost against leader Tanjina Akhtar Tani in the eighth round of the 11th Standard Charterded School Chess Championships in Dhaka.

The loss instead handed the Bangladeshi the championship with one round to go. Akhtar has 7.5 points while her close opponent Shanta has only six. Shanta was herself to blame for the defeat as she lost her composure and ultimately the match. “She (Akhtar) was a tough opponent and was more experienced,” said Shanta after the game.

Meanwhile, Bijay Raj Aryal gave Nepal something to cheer with a win over Rafinul Islam Arnov in the boys’ section. Adopting an offensive strategy, Bijay won the game in 22nd move to record his fifth victory from eight rounds of play. “After the win, I have set my target to finish at top five,” said Bijay, who has six points.

Another Nepali player Rupesh Jaiswal lost his second consecutive match and remained on 5.5 points. Rupesh lost to India’s Sourek Roy Chaudhary. In girls’ section match, Ashmita Adhikari of Nepal defeated Swopna to accumulate a total of 5.5 points after eight rounds. The final round is on Wednesday.