Aakash G wins Sivakasi Chess Club Rapid Rating Open 2025
Five players - FM Aakash G, FM Prasannaa S, GM P Shyaam Nikhil, Balkishan A and IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam scored 8/9 each at Sivakasi Chess Club Rapid Rating Open 2025. Aakash won the tournament on tie-breaks. The remaining four were placed second to fifth according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹26000 + trophy, ₹22000 + trophy and ₹17000 each respectively. The one-day nine round Swiss League Rapid Rating Open Tournament was organized by Sivakasi Chess Club at Sri Kaliswari College in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu on 31st August 2025. This is Aakash's fifth overall, third rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: IA R Anantharam
Aakash's fifth tournament triumph of the year
FM Aakash G of Coimbatore, who recently earned two IM norms, won the Sivakasi Chess Club FIDE Rated Rapid chess tournament, held at Sri Kaliswari College, Sivakasi. He scored eight points and was undefeated to collect ₹26000 as the first prize.
Though on par with Aakash, scoring eight points, former Tamil Nadu champion FM Prasannaa S, GM P Shyaam Nikhil of ICF, Balkishan A of Karnataka and IM Ramnathan Balasubramanaiam of TN finished second to fourth in that order, behind Aakash. Prasanna and Shyaam Nikhil were presented ₹22000 and ₹17000 respectively.
With six wins and three draws, GM Laxman RR topped the list of three players who scored 7.5 points to win the sixth place.
Current Tamil Nadu champion B Vignesh of Chennai lost to Aakash in the penultimate round and drew with Mutyalapati Modith Aaroh of Canada to score 7.5 points and was placed sixth.
Youngster N R Jaidambareesh of Kanyakumari also lost to Aakash and drew with former National Rapid champion Ram S Krishnan, to be placed eighth.
V Sarveshwaran of Coimbatore drew with his city mate Aakash and lost to Vignesh to surge ahead in the list of 22 players who scored seven points, to obtain the ninth place.
After six consecutive wins, IM Senthil Maran K had two draws against Dinesh Rajan M, brother of GM Pranesh M and GM Laxman and had an unexpected loss at the hands of IM Balasubramaniam R in the final round, pushing him to the tenth place.
Sri Kaliswari College, Sivakasi
As one of the few NAAC accredited (A+ Grade) institutions in the region, Sri Kaliswari College is poised to become one among the premiere educational institutions in the country. The secretary, AP Selvarajan, a former vice president of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, is a sports lover and has never said no to any chess activity in the college campus.
The college has organized two national chess championships, several state chess championships, coaching camp by Grandmaster Rodrigo Vasquez of Chile, arbiter seminars and refresher courses etc.
A total of 444 players including 2 GMs and 3 IMs took part from various states all over the country, one from Canada, England, Malta and Scotland each. The one-day nine round Swiss League Rapid Rating Open Tournament was organized by Sivakasi Chess Club at Sri Kaliswari College in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu on 31st August 2025. The time control was 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | Gr | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | TB6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | FM | Aakash G | 3873CBE2025 | IND | 2184 | TN | 8 | 55,5 | 59,5 | 52,3 | 0 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 9 | FM | Prasannaa.S | 11203TLR2025 | IND | 2082 | TN | 8 | 53 | 55 | 47,3 | 0 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 1 | GM | Shyaam Nikhil P | 2862CHE2025 | IND | 2351 | ICF | 8 | 49,5 | 52,5 | 45,8 | 0 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 13 | Balkishan A. | IND | 1992 | KA | 8 | 49,5 | 52 | 46 | 0 | 8 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | 10 | IM | Ramnathan Balasubramaniam | LM | IND | 2077 | TN | 8 | 49 | 53 | 46 | 0 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 3 | GM | Laxman R.R. | LM | IND | 2215 | ICF | 7,5 | 56 | 61,5 | 50 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 7 | 2 | AGM | Vignesh B | 9624CGL2025 | IND | 2216 | TN | 7,5 | 52 | 56 | 44,8 | 0 | 7 | 5 | ||
| 8 | 25 | Jaidambareesh N R | 5039KKI2024 | IND | 1906 | TN | 7,5 | 51 | 54,5 | 43,3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | |||
| 9 | 15 | CM | Sarveshwaran V | 3913CBE2025 | IND | 1978 | TN | 7 | 53 | 54,5 | 39,5 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 5 | IM | Senthil Maran K | 11833TLR2025 | IND | 2168 | TN | 7 | 52 | 56 | 41 | 0 | 6 | 3 | ||
| 11 | 14 | Ajjesh J R | 9596CHE2025 | IND | 1988 | TN | 7 | 52 | 55 | 39,5 | 0 | 7 | 3 | |||
| 12 | 19 | Gokul Krishna S | 7618TPR2025 | IND | 1946 | TN | 7 | 51,5 | 56 | 41,5 | 0 | 7 | 5 | |||
| 13 | 16 | Sailesh R | 2615CHE2025 | IND | 1965 | TN | 7 | 51,5 | 55,5 | 40,5 | 0 | 7 | 4 | |||
| 14 | 23 | Naveen K S | 25824CHE2025 | IND | 1921 | TN | 7 | 51,5 | 55,5 | 40 | 0 | 7 | 4 | |||
| 15 | 8 | IM | Murali Krishnan B T | LM | IND | 2087 | Sou. RLys | 7 | 50,5 | 53,5 | 38,5 | 0 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 16 | 11 | CM | Barath Kalyan M | 8034TNJ2025 | IND | 2017 | TN | 7 | 50 | 52 | 38,5 | 0 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 17 | 20 | FM | Jai Sankar Subramanian | 9131VNR2025 | IND | 1926 | TN-V | 7 | 49,5 | 54 | 39 | 0 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 18 | 17 | CM | Nandish V S | 3898CBE2025 | IND | 1956 | TN | 7 | 49,5 | 53 | 39,5 | 0 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 19 | 37 | Rohith P | U14 | 9227VNR2025 | IND | 1763 | TN-V | 7 | 49,5 | 52,5 | 39 | 0 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 20 | 7 | FM | Maheswaran P. | 9269VNR2025 | IND | 2104 | Postal | 7 | 49,5 | 52,5 | 38,5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | ||
| 21 | 24 | Gokul G | U14 | 9019VPM2025 | IND | 1916 | TN | 7 | 49,5 | 51,5 | 37,5 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 22 | 21 | CM | Kumaresh A | 9334VNR2025 | IND | 1925 | TN-V | 7 | 48,5 | 52,5 | 39 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 23 | 39 | AGM | Mehul S U | 5195KKI2025 | IND | 1738 | TN | 7 | 48,5 | 52,5 | 37,5 | 0 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 24 | 28 | Jahir Hussain A | 19388TNJ2025 | IND | 1881 | TN | 7 | 48,5 | 52 | 38 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |||
| 25 | 63 | Prabakaran S | 6406PDU2025 | IND | 1606 | TN | 7 | 48,5 | 51,5 | 36,5 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
About the Author
Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of Titles Commission in All India Chess Federation, Vice President of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International and National Championships. Nominated as one of the top seven arbiters in the world for the past hundred years by FIDE.
The report was edited by Shahid Ahmed
