Rohini Khadilkar is an Indian chess player, won Indian Chess Championship five times and the Asian Chess Championship twice. She also received Arjuna Award in the year 1980.

Early Life of Rohini Khadilkar
Rohini Khadilkar was born on April 1, in the year 1963, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She is a Woman International Master in Chess.

Career of Rohini Khadilkar
Rohini Khadilkar became National Women`s Chess in the year 1976 at the age of 13. She was the first woman chess player from India to win that championship in three consecutive years. She has held the title on five occasions like November 1976, at Kottayam, Kerala, December 1977, at Hyderabad, March 1979, at Madras, February 1981, at New Delhi and December 1983, at New Delhi.

Rohini Khadilkar in Asian Women`s Chess Championship
In the year 1981, Rohini Khadilkar also became the Asian Women`s Chess Championship when the competition was held at Hyderabad, the capital city of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Rohini Khadilkar was unbeaten in that competition and scored 11.5 out of a possible 12 points. She again won the Asian Women`s title when the competition was held at Kualalumpur, Malaysia.

Rohini Khadilkar in International Chess Master
Rohini Khadilkar became an International Chess Master and in November 1983

Rohini Khadilkar in Indian Men`s Championship
Rohini Khadilkar became the first female to compete in the Indian Men`s Championship when she participated in the year 1976. Her involvement in a male competition caused a furore that necessitated a successful appeal to the High Court and caused the World Chess Federation president, Max Euwe, to rule that women cannot be barred from national and international championships. She beat three state champions - Gaurang Mehta of Gujarat, Abdul Jabbar of Maharashtra and A. K. Ghosh of West Bengal - in the competition- Indian Men`s Championship.

Rohini Khadilkar in Chess Olympiad
Rohini Khadilkar and her sisters also participated in Chess Olympiad 1980 at Valletta. Rohini Khadilkar also participated in the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires (1978), Valletta (1980), Lucerne (1982), Thessaloniki (1984), at Dubai (1986), Thessaloniki (1988), and in Novi Sad (1990). She has been a captain in that competition.

Rohini Khadilkar in Zonal Championships
Rohini Khadilkar also won the Zonal Championships twice, in Dubai and Malaysia, and became the World No.8 player. She was also the first Asian player to beat a chess computer, in London in 1989.

Rohini Khadilkar as a Chess Ambassador
Rohini Khadilkar has travelled abroad to represent India on 56 occasions, visiting numerous countries. On each occasion, Rohini Khadilkar was sponsored by the Government of India as a Chess Ambassador. Her visits included trips to the then-Communist countries of Poland, USSR and Yugoslavia, which were encouraged by Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India at that time.

Other Career of Rohini Khadilkar
In 1993, Rohini Khadilkar retired from chess and enrolled as a student at the Printing Technology Institute. She came first in her cohort, earning a Gold Medal, and was given Printing Diploma by Agfa-Gevaert. Rohini Khadilkar became the first female editor of an evening newspaper in Maharashtra. She is the assistant editor of Navakal and has been editor of Sandhyakal since 16 December 1998.

Awards received by Rohini Khadilkar
In 1977, Rohini Khadilkar won the Chhatrapati Award for outstanding performance in chess from Maharashtra. Subsequently, she has been awarded India`s highest honour in sports, the Arjuna award. She has also been declared Maharashtra Kanya for her chess exploits.