Dhanush Ragav N S is the outright winner of 1st Akshaya Institutions Rating Open 2025
Dhanush Ragav N S scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win 1st Akshaya Institutions Rating Open 2025. Five players - Sanjay S Pillai, Haridev S, Christy George, Ahaz E U and Jayanth Venkatesh scored 7.5/9. They secured second to sixth place according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹400001. The top three prizes were ₹50001 + trophy, ₹35000 and ₹25000 each respectively. The five-day nine round Swiss League Rating Open Tournament was organized by Miracle School of Chess, Coimbatore at Akshaya College of Engineering and Technology in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 20th to 24th August 2025. This is Dhanush's first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: IA R Anantharam
Dhanush's first rating tournament triumph of the year
Dhanush Ragav N S of Dindigul scored eight points to emerge outright winner at the Akshaya Institutions FIDE rated chess tournament, organized by Miracle School of Chess, Coimbatore. Dhanush collected ₹50001 rupees from a total prize pool of ₹400000.
Five players scored 7.5 points, making it a five way tie for the places from second to sixth. Sanjay S Pillai had the highest Buchholz score to be declared as runner-up and Tamil Nadu State Under-15 and Under-17 champion for the current year, S Haridev of Chennai was the second runner-up. Sanjay and Haridev received ₹35000 and ₹25000 respectively.
14-year-old Christy George of Kerala had a good tournament, beating Mani Bharathi of Coimbatore, the recent winner of the Sivakasi Chess Sparklers rating tournament, in the final round.
15-year-old top seed with a rating of 2240 had to be content with the fifth place, as his early loss in the third round pulled down his tie-break data.
13-year-old boy Jayanth Venkatesh of Tamil Nadu performed a hat trick of wins in the final three rounds to earn a creditable sixth place.
Prize winners are getting younger and younger, a measure of the growing status of chess in Tamil Nadu and India. 12-year-old M Dharsh of Tamil Nadu scored four wins, four draws and a win in the final round, which made him the highest tie-break scorer among the seven points players.
Barath L of Chennai matched Dharsh in both Buchholz data, but the SB value put him in the eighth place.
Akshaya Institutions, Coimbatore
Established in 2009 by the esteemed Akshaya Charitable Trust, Akshaya Group of Institutions, comprising, engineering and arts and science stands as a beacon of excellence in education. With professionals boasting over 25+ years of industrial expertise at the helm, the college is committed to nurturing bright minds and future leaders.
The college is rendering a voluntary service to sports in general and chess in particular and is planning to organize big level tournaments in the future. The college offers excellent facilities for chess tournaments and the specialty is the involvement of students and staff in big gathering, serving with a smiling face.
A total of 288 players took part from various states all over the country, one from Canada and USA each. The five-day nine round Swiss League Rating Open Tournament was organized by Miracle School of Chess, Coimbatore at Akshaya College of Engineering and Technology in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 20th to 24th August 2025. The time control was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | Gr | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Dhanush Ragav N S | 4365DGL2025 | IND | 2031 | TN | 8 | 53,5 | 58 | 50,5 | 0 | 7 | ||||
| 2 | 4 | Sanjay S Pillai | NA | IND | 2052 | KL | 7,5 | 52,5 | 56,5 | 45,5 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | Haridev S | U15 | 3718CHE2025 | IND | 2122 | TN | 7,5 | 52 | 56,5 | 45,5 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 4 | 24 | AIM | Christy George | U15 | NA | IND | 1875 | KL | 7,5 | 50,5 | 55,5 | 43,8 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Ahaz E U | U15 | NA | IND | 2240 | KL | 7,5 | 49,5 | 54,5 | 45,8 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 6 | 10 | AIM | Jayanth Venkatesh | U15 | 2589CHE2025 | IND | 1934 | TN | 7,5 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 42,8 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 14 | Dharsh M | U12 | 3875CGL2025 | IND | 1914 | TN | 7 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 40,5 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 8 | 17 | Barath L | 36983CHE2025 | IND | 1898 | TN | 7 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 39,5 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| 9 | 7 | FM | Anilkumar O.T. | S56 | NA | IND | 1969 | KL | 7 | 48 | 50,5 | 38,5 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 10 | 21 | Ebin Benny | NA | IND | 1889 | KL | 7 | 46 | 49,5 | 36,8 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| 11 | 40 | Mithun K | U15 | 8446NGP2025 | IND | 1804 | TN | 7 | 45,5 | 48,5 | 35 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 12 | 11 | Darshan S | U15 | 6528RAN2025 | IND | 1934 | TN | 6,5 | 50 | 54,5 | 37,5 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 13 | 27 | Lukesh A | 9656CHE2025 | IND | 1838 | TN | 6,5 | 50 | 54 | 36,8 | 0 | 5 | ||||
| 14 | 23 | Kumar S. | 24695CHE2025 | IND | 1876 | TN | 6,5 | 49 | 53 | 36,8 | 0 | 4 | ||||
| 15 | 25 | Sri Harinandan G | U15 | 3882CBE2025 | IND | 1871 | TN_CBE | 6,5 | 49 | 53 | 35,5 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 16 | 32 | Kishore Prajith | U15 | 1302CBE2025 | IND | 1825 | TN_CBE | 6,5 | 48,5 | 52 | 35,3 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 17 | 39 | Kesavamoorthy G | U15 | 1281CGL2025 | IND | 1807 | TN | 6,5 | 48,5 | 51,5 | 34,8 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 18 | 18 | Iniyan K | 10368CHE2025 | IND | 1898 | TN | 6,5 | 48 | 52 | 35,8 | 0 | 5 | ||||
| 19 | 16 | Prawin K | 5800CBE2025 | IND | 1909 | TN_CBE | 6,5 | 47,5 | 52 | 36,3 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| 20 | 22 | Raaghav Kabil M | 9777TNV2025 | IND | 1882 | TN | 6,5 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 35,3 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| 21 | 2 | FM | Prasannaa.S | 11203TLR2025 | IND | 2178 | TN | 6,5 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 34,3 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 22 | 26 | Logesh Kumar R | 2962CHE2025 | IND | 1851 | TN | 6,5 | 47 | 51,5 | 35,5 | 0 | 5 | ||||
| 23 | 33 | Abhinav M B | U15 | NA | IND | 1817 | KL | 6,5 | 46 | 49,5 | 34 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 24 | 43 | Meiyappan M | U15 | 3879CBE2025 | IND | 1796 | TN_CBE | 6,5 | 45 | 49,5 | 33,5 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 25 | 49 | Rahul K | 4092CBE2025 | IND | 1771 | TN_CBE | 6,5 | 44,5 | 48,5 | 32,5 | 0 | 5 |
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
