Manigandan wins 15th KCM Open
Ninth seeded S S Manigandan of Madurai, Tamil Nadu scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 to win 15th KCM Open. IM Al Muthaiah also scored 8.0/9, however due to a better tie-break score, Manigandan was declared the winner of the tournament and Muthaiah had to settle for the runner-up position. Senthil Maran scored 7.5/9 and secured the second runner-up position. Total 339 players from four different states and one union territory participated in the tournament across the nation. The fifteenth edition of the tournament was organized by Kovai Chess Mates Sports Trust from 28th September to 2nd October 2019 at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Photo: R M Ramakrishnen / Kovai Chess Mates Sports Trust
Manigandan wins his fourth tournament of the year
S S Manigandan started out as ninth seed. However going into the final round, he was in a five-way lead with four other players. Only him and Muthaiah scored a victory in the final round. Thus they secured first and second position respectively.
The event was inaugurated by Mr. N Jayabal, President, Coimbatore District Chess Association by making the first move on the top board. The other dignitaries present on the dais were Mr. Senthil Chinnasamy, President, Kovai Chess Mates Sports Trust, Dr. G G Sathiesh, International Arbiter, Chief Arbiter of the Event, Mr. K Dhanasekar, Secretary, Coimbatore District Chess Association and members of Kovai Chess Mates Sports Trust.
Seated L to R: KCM Members, Champion S S Manigandan, Mr. B Venkatachalapathy, Secretary, Kovai Chess Mates Sports Trust , IA Mr. V Vijayaraghavan, Joint Secretary, TNSCA.
Standing L to R: Kovai Chess Mates Sports Trust members, IA Dr. G G Sathiesh, Chief Arbiter and Mr. R Dhanasekar, Secretary, Coimbatore.
The tournament was organized at Sri Krishna Gounder Kalyana Mandapam, Ganapathy, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 28th September to 2nd October by Kovai Chess Mates Sports Trust. Total 339 players participated from four different states and one union territory across the nation.
Final Standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | |
| 1 | 9 | Manigandan S S | S18 | IND | 2103 | TN | 8,0 | 0,0 | 51,5 | 56,0 | 49,00 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 1 | IM | Muthaiah Al | S18 | IND | 2373 | TN | 8,0 | 0,0 | 50,0 | 54,5 | 48,00 | 7 | |
| 3 | 3 | Senthil Maran K | S18 | IND | 2273 | TN | 7,5 | 0,0 | 55,0 | 59,0 | 48,25 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 2 | IM | Girinath P.D.S. | S18 | IND | 2336 | AP | 7,5 | 0,0 | 49,5 | 54,0 | 43,25 | 7 | |
| 5 | 28 | Nandha Kumar K | S18 | IND | 1695 | TN-C | 7,5 | 0,0 | 49,0 | 53,5 | 43,25 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Lokesh N. | S18 | IND | 2225 | TN | 7,5 | 0,0 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 42,75 | 7 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Prasannaa.S | S18 | IND | 2231 | TN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 53,5 | 58,5 | 43,00 | 7 | ||
| 8 | 6 | Phoobalan P. | S18 | IND | 2159 | ICF | 7,0 | 0,0 | 53,0 | 57,0 | 43,25 | 6 | ||
| 9 | 24 | Jagadeesh A.K. | S18 | IND | 1716 | KER | 7,0 | 0,0 | 51,0 | 56,0 | 41,25 | 6 | ||
| 10 | 19 | Aswath S | U11 | IND | 1836 | TN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 49,5 | 54,5 | 40,50 | 7 | ||
| 11 | 10 | Bala Kannamma P | S18 | w | IND | 2083 | TN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 39,75 | 6 | |
| 16 | Ananthapadmanabh D V | U15 | IND | 1905 | KER | 7,0 | 0,0 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 39,75 | 6 | |||
| 13 | 13 | Selvamurugan B | S18 | IND | 1956 | TN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 48,0 | 52,5 | 39,00 | 6 | ||
| 14 | 42 | Vigneshwaran N. | S18 | IND | 1573 | TN-C | 7,0 | 0,0 | 47,5 | 51,0 | 37,00 | 6 | ||
| 15 | 7 | Balkishan A. | S18 | IND | 2120 | KAR | 7,0 | 0,0 | 47,0 | 51,0 | 39,00 | 7 | ||
| 16 | 11 | Anilkumar O.T. | S55 | IND | 2080 | KER | 7,0 | 0,0 | 46,5 | 51,0 | 35,00 | 6 | ||
| 17 | 12 | WFM | Saranya J | S18 | w | IND | 2022 | TN | 6,5 | 0,0 | 52,5 | 56,5 | 37,25 | 6 |
| 18 | 8 | CM | Rajarishi Karthi | S18 | IND | 2116 | TN | 6,5 | 0,0 | 52,0 | 57,0 | 38,25 | 6 | |
| 19 | 22 | Gugan G | U15 | IND | 1770 | TN | 6,5 | 0,0 | 51,5 | 55,5 | 37,00 | 5 | ||
| 20 | 23 | Manoj B | IND | 1756 | TN | 6,5 | 0,0 | 51,5 | 55,5 | 35,75 | 6 | |||
| 21 | 14 | Dhanush Ragav N S | IND | 1949 | TN | 6,5 | 0,0 | 49,0 | 52,0 | 35,00 | 5 | |||
| 22 | 34 | Aakash G | U09 | IND | 1655 | TN-C | 6,5 | 0,0 | 49,0 | 52,0 | 33,75 | 6 | ||
| 23 | 20 | Kabhilan S | IND | 1829 | TN | 6,5 | 0,0 | 48,0 | 52,0 | 35,50 | 5 | |||
| 24 | 17 | AGM | Vignesh B | U15 | IND | 1842 | TN | 6,5 | 0,0 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 35,50 | 6 | |
| 25 | 36 | Mukhesh C | IND | 1627 | TN-C | 6,5 | 0,0 | 46,0 | 50,0 | 33,75 | 5 |
