Shreyas Ghadi wins 30th RCC Rapid Rating Cup 2026

by Devansh Singh - 05/02/2026

Shreyas Ghadi from Maharashtra wins the 30th RCC International Fide Rated Rapid Cup with 8/9 points and a half-point lead over the field. This is Shreyas's first rapid-rated tournament victory of the year. For second place, it was a tie among three players on 7.5/9 points, but Nirmal L of Tamil Nadu secured second place because of his better tiebreaks, while Dhanush Ram M of Karnataka secured third place. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹1,00,000. The top three prizes were ₹ 15,000, ₹ 10,000, and ₹ 7,000, along with a trophy each. The one-day nine-round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Rao's Chess Corner at Ballary Kalyana Mantapa, Ranebennur, Haveri District, Karnataka on 18th January 2026. Photo: Rao's Chess Corner

Last round victory helped Shreyas to win the title

Going into the round, Shreyas was paired against the tournament leader, Nirmal L, who was leading the event with half a point, and he was on 7.5/8, while Shreyas was on 7/8. Shreyas won this game with the black pieces to secure first place, while Nirmal slipped down to second place after losing his last round game

Champion - Shreyas Ghadi receiving the trophy from IA Vasanth BH after scoring 8/9 points

Runner Up - Nirmal L scored 7.5/9

Dhanush Ram M secured the third place, and the only game he lost was against the runner-up, Nirmal L

Top 3 finishers of the event

Beautiful Trophies at RCC

Check out the last round game between Shreyas and Nirmal

Shreyas's performance in the tournament and he increased his rating by 19.4 points

Prize List

Replay the games from the event

For more photos, click here.

Interview with Karnataka's strongest chess couple and Rao's Chess Corner Founders - WGM Isha Sharma and IM Sharan Rao | Video: ChessBase India

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	5		Shreyas, Ghadi		IND	1905	Mh	8	48,5	53,5	47
2	6		Nirmal, L		IND	1890	Tn	7,5	55,5	60	48,25
3	3		Dhanush, Ram M		IND	1946	Kar	7,5	52	55,5	44,25
4	1	AIM	Aarush, Bhat	U15	IND	1983	Kar	7,5	51	55	44,25
5	14		Aravinda, B R		IND	1675	Kar	7	50	54,5	39,5
6	4		Leelajai, Krishna N		IND	1914	Kar	7	49,5	53,5	38,5
7	24		Dinesh, Rajachar		IND	1568	Kar	7	44,5	47,5	34,5
8	2		Johny, P.I.	S60	IND	1952	Kl	7	43	47	35
9	7		Chiranth, M D		IND	1867	Kar	6,5	53	58	39,25
10	13		Gopinath, P		IND	1692	Tn	6,5	51,5	55	36,75
11	15		Sachin Pai,		IND	1672	Kar	6,5	45,5	46,5	30,25
12	16		Raghav Budur,		IND	1664	Kar	6,5	45	49	31,25
13	8		Abdul Rahim, A S	S60	IND	1770	Tn	6,5	43	47	33,5
14	12		Sumeetkumar, M S		IND	1698	Kar	6	49	53	32,25
15	9		Gowtam, J K		IND	1758	Kar	6	48	51,5	29,5

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