Raja Ravi Sekhar

Raja Ravi Sekhar (born 17 September 1954) is an Indian chess player who holds the title of International Master (1981). He twice won the Indian Chess Championships (1976, 1980).

Raja Ravi Sekhar
Raja Ravi Sekhar when he was 27 years old
Country	India
Born	(1954-09-17) 17 September 1954 (age 70) Chennai, India
Title	International Master (1981)
Peak rating	2430 (July 1984)

Biography

Raja Ravi Sekhar started playing chess at the age of 17. After two years, in 1974, he won the Indian Junior Chess Championship. A year later he wins again this tournament. From 1975 to 1990 he 16 times in a row participated in Indian Chess Championships finals and twice won this tournament - in 1976 and 1980.^[1]

Raja Ravi Sekhar played for India in the Chess Olympiads:^[2]

• In 1980, at first board in the 24th Chess Olympiad in La Valletta (+3, =6, -4),
• In 1982, at second board in the 25th Chess Olympiad in Lucerne (+3, =3, -3),
• In 1984, at second board in the 26th Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki (+4, =6, -3),
• In 1986, at second reserve board in the 27th Chess Olympiad in Dubai (+3, =4, -2),
• In 1988, at second reserve board in the 28th Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki (+3, =1, -1),
• In 1990, at second reserve board in the 29th Chess Olympiad in Novi Sad (+2, =1, -2).

Raja Ravi Sekhar played for India in the Men's Asian Team Chess Championships:^[3]

• In 1977, at third board in the 2nd Asian Team Chess Championship in Auckland (+4, =1, -4),
• In 1981, at third board in the 4th Asian Team Chess Championship in Hangzhou (+3, =2, -2),
• In 1989, at fourth board in the 8th Asian Team Chess Championship in Genting Highlands (+1, =2, -1) and won team bronze medal.

In 1981, Ravi Sekhar was awarded the FIDE International Master (IM) title.

In 1986, he became a FIDE International Arbiter after successfully officiating the 1979 Asian Junior Chess Championship in Sivakasi and the 1983 National B Chess Championship in Agartala.^[4]

After 1993, he did not participate in FIDE-rated competitions.^[5] Ravi Sekhar has founded his own chess academy in Bangalore, where he works as a coach.

Books

Ravi Sekhar has published 5 books after his retirement from competitive chess in '93.

• Basic Endgame Knowledge (1994), Chess Moves ^[6]
• Indian Masters beat Grandmasters (1995), Chess Windows ^[7]
• Indian Masters outplay Grandmasters (1996), Chess Windows
• Indian Masters outwit Grandmasters (1997), Chess Windows
• IMPORTANT Rook Endings (For the Tournament Player) (1999), Chess Windows