Courtalam Saaral International Rating Open Preview
Want to enjoy the best season in Courtalam with competitive chess? Come to Courtalam, a health and spa resort in the western ghats of south Tamil Nadu, bordering Kerala, with perennial rivers and plenty of waterfalls and cascades. The cold breeze with constant minute and continuous drizzling will take you to the climax of ecstasy. Coming back to chess, the tournament is held from 29th August to 2nd September for five days by Tirunelveli District Chess Development Association. The field includes a strong contingent of grandmaster in Rodrigo Schroeder Vasquez of Chile and a plethora of international masters. Vasquez has defeated the world champion Magnus Carlsen time and again in blitz games and people say that Rodrigo is +2 against Carlsen on internet chess. Photo: Shahid Ahmed
A sleeper international rating tournament at the spa of south on Western Ghats
Rodrigo’s current classical rating is 2496, rapid rating 2605 and blitz 2543. He plays under the name 'Kastor' on internet.
The second seed Muhammad Khusenkhojaev is an international master from Tajikistan, who is one of the leaders in the Tetrasoft GM tournament under progress at Hyderabad. His rating is 2442. He is a regular visitor to India.
The third seed in the tournament is IM Sayantan Das, the GM elect from Kolkata, who also finished runner up in the recent Athens of the East GM tournament at Madurai, ahead of many strong grandmasters.
The Hyderabad IM Charkravarthy Reddy is placed fourth in the starting rank, followed by IM Muthaiah AL of Tamil Nadu.
The main falls is situated less than one km from the venue and all other falls are within the range of 3 to 5 km. Trekking will be a pleasant experience and the water flowing through many herbals has a highly medicinal value. The salubrious weather offers an ambient mood for good chess. Come and enjoy Courtalam and chess.
For more details about the tournament, click here.
Starting line up
No. | Name | ID | FideID | FED | RtgI | sex | Typ | Gr | Club/City | |
1 | GM | Vasquez Schroeder Rodrigo | 10001 | 3400042 | CHI | 2543 | 1050 | CHI | ||
2 | IM | Khusenkhojaev Muhammad | 0 | 14700247 | TJK | 2442 | NA | |||
3 | IM | Das Sayantan | 462582013 | 5034426 | IND | 2409 | U25 | NA | WB | |
4 | IM | Chakravarthi Reddy M | 461112019 | 25009532 | IND | 2392 | U25 | NA | TEL | |
5 | IM | Muthaiah Al | 455292013 | 5092442 | IND | 2384 | U25 | 5156 | TN | |
6 | Prasannaa.S | 403122013 | 5068878 | IND | 2237 | U25 | 6953 | TN | ||
7 | Senthil Maran K | 407762013 | 25035681 | IND | 2222 | U25 | 6956 | TN | ||
8 | IM | Ramnathan Balasubramaniam | 474772013 | 5001277 | IND | 2200 | 1008 | TN | ||
9 | Alan Diviya Raj | 403262013 | 25034740 | IND | 2026 | U25 | 1042 | |||
10 | AGM | Sa Kannan | 461772013 | 5018340 | IND | 2021 | 6954 | TN | ||
11 | Swaraj Palit | 480652013 | 5014590 | IND | 1917 | NA | JHA | |||
12 | Merryston David Scanny | 472332013 | 5010268 | IND | 1844 | 1016 | -T AICF not paid | |||
13 | Suganthan S | 465722013 | 46626522 | IND | 1807 | U15 | 1049 | TN-V | ||
14 | Ruban Sanjai M | 460902013 | 35070592 | IND | 1698 | U15 | 5158 | TN | ||
15 | Shadhursshaan R | 591602014 | 45024138 | IND | 1608 | U12 | 5115 | TN | ||
16 | Sanjay Ganesh Pandi | 774462016 | 25682873 | IND | 1604 | U15 | 5189 | TN | ||
17 | Manikanda Prabhu B V | 600072014 | 45033056 | IND | 1595 | U15 | 5243 | TN-T | ||
18 | Arul Anandh S P K | 758242017 | 45086931 | IND | 1578 | U15 | 5210 | TN | ||
19 | Mohana R | 446482013 | 35040456 | IND | 1557 | w | F15 | 5192 | ||
20 | Anilkumar K.V. | 1041 | 5007488 | IND | 1547 | 5591 | TN |
About the Author
Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of Arbiters’ Commission in All India Chess Federation and also International Braille Chess Association, Vice President of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International and National Championships.
The article was edited by Shahid Ahmed