Mumbai, Mar 8 (PTI) Nine-year-old Candidate Master Kush Bhagat finished third in an open category chess meet in Paris on Thursday.

The Mumbai schoolboy achieved the feat in the 4e Open International de Noisiel category, which has a rating category of 1400-2000 Elo points and concluded in Paris, according to a release from his chess academy.

Leading the tournament at the end of the seventh round, Bhagat narrowly missed out on the title after losing the eighth round and securing a draw in the ninth.

In the competition that saw the participation of 12 countries, Bhagat scored a total of six points out of the nine rounds and attained the third position.

Starting as the 18th seed, he got the better of top seed Favre Mathieu in the second round.

In the third round he got the better of Toure Shanthi who eventually went on to win the second place in the competition, the release said.

Bhagat, from the South Mumbai Chess Academy, gained a total of 118 ELO points to take his new rating tally to 1800 ELO points, it added.

"This is a big victory for Kush in an open chess meet in Paris where he competed with the best players from across the world. It is good for him that he would play more such events in the future," said his coach Balaji Guttula.

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