Aaryan Varshney dominates 1st Jabalpur Rapid Rating Open 2025

by Shahid Ahmed - 22/01/2025

IM Aaryan Varshney scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 1st Jabalpur Rapid Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Five players - IM Himal Gusain, Gourav Nigam, Kamad Mishra, Rajesh Diwan and Sangharsh Soni scored 8/9 each. They were placed second to sixth respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹150000. The top three prizes were ₹21000, ₹15000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy each respectively. The two-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Foundations Chess Academy in association with Kaunteya Ventures at Rungbhumi Pandit Shri Ravi Shankar Shukla Stadium in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh on 4th and 5th January 2025. Aaryan won the first tournament he played in 2025. Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

Aaryan clinches the first tournament he plays this year

IM Himal Gusain made a blazing start by winning eight games in-a-row. He was the sole leader heading into the final round. Gourav Nigam and IM Aaryan Varshney were trailing by a half point at 7.5/8 each. Aaryan defeated Himal to become a clear champion, Himal secured second place. Gourav Nigam drew with Vaibhav Nema to finish third.

Champion - IM Aaryan Varshney (left) 8.5/9 | Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

Top 3 (L to R): 2nd IM Himal Gusain 8/9, 1st IM Aaryan Varshney 8.5/9 and 3rd Gourav Nigam 8/9 | Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

IM Aaryan Varshney scored an unbeaten 8.5/9, finished a half point ahead of the field and gained 9.8 Elo rating points

Tournament banner | Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

Players in action | Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

Trophies for the prize winners | Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

The tournament hall at Rungbhui Pandit Shri Ravi Shankar Shukla Stadium in Jabalpur, Rajasthan | Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

Arbiters and Organizing team | Photo: Utkarsh Agrawal / Foundations Chess Academy

A total of 492 players including two IMs took part from all over the country and one from France. The two-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Foundations Chess Academy in association with Kaunteya Ventures at Rungbhumi Pandit Shri Ravi Shankar Shukla Stadium in Jabalpur, Rajasthan on 4th and 5th January 2025. The time control of the event was 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment from move no.1.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	FED	RtgI	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5
1	1	IM	Aaryan Varshney		IND	2240	DL	8,5	53,5	58,5	54,50	8
2	2	IM	Gusain Himal		IND	2182	CH	8	56,5	59,5	51,00	8
3	4		Gourav Nigam		IND	1951	MP	8	55	60,5	52,50	7
4	5		Mishra Kamad		IND	1902	MP-JBP	8	54,5	59,5	51,50	8
5	14		Diwan Rajesh		IND	1763	MP-JBP	8	52	57	49,50	8
6	8		Soni Sangharsh		IND	1841	MP	8	50,5	53,5	45,00	8
7	3		Vaibhav Nema		IND	2006	MP	7,5	53,5	55,5	43,50	7
8	36		Amol Ramteke		IND	1617	MH	7,5	50,5	55	43,50	7
9	26		Sandeep Jaiswal		IND	1665	UP	7,5	48,5	52,5	43,00	7
10	31	AIM	Swaraj Mishra	U09	IND	1634	MH	7,5	48	51	40,75	7
11	17	AIM	Saikat Nath		IND	1731	DL	7	52,5	56,5	41,00	7
12	248		Deepak Garewal		IND	0	MP-JBP	7	51	55	40,00	7
13	120		Shashank Yadav	U13	IND	1412	UP	7	51	54,5	41,25	6
14	11	AIM	Hend Pravin		IND	1801	MH	7	50	54,5	40,00	6
15	38		Vijay M Dhale	S55	IND	1613	MH	7	49,5	53	40,75	6
16	19		Sharma Vicky		IND	1710	MP	7	49	52	37,50	7
17	22		Vivaan Roy	U15	IND	1677	CT	7	47,5	50,5	37,25	6
18	7		Hitesh S. Jariya		IND	1848	MP	7	47,5	49,5	34,50	7
19	82		Ashay Paturkar	U15	IND	1496	MH	7	47	51	36,25	6
20	235		Ayush Rai		IND	0	MP-JBP	7	47	50	36,50	7