Arnav Kherdekar triumphs at 1st SMCA Rating Open 2024

by Shahid Ahmed - 31/10/2024

Arnav Kherdekar and IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni scored an unbeaten 7.5/8 each at 1st SMCA Rating Open 2024. Arnav won the tournament on tie-breaks, top seed Vikramaditya was placed second. The sixth round battle between them ended in a draw. Third seeded Yash Watarkar scored sole 7/8 and remained undefeated to finish third. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹300000. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹30000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each. The six-day eight round Rating tournament was organized by and at SMCA Chess School in Mumbai, Maharashtra from 11th to 16th October 2024. This is Arnav's first tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Mustafa Motiwala

Arnav's first tournament triumph of the year

Arnav Kherdekar and IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni were the coleaders 6.5/7, going into the final round. Vikramaditya defeated Atharv and Arnav won against Darsh Shetty. Arnav became champion, Vikramaditya second. Yash Watarkar scored a victory over Yuti Mayur Patel to finish third.

Champion - Arnav Kherdekar 7.5/8 | Photo: Mustafa Motiwala

Runner-up - IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni 7.5/8 | Photo: Mustafa Motiwala

Second Runner-up - Yash Watarkar 7/8 | Photo: Mustafa Motiwala

Arnav Kherdekar during one of his games | Photo: Mustafa Motiwala

Arnav Kherdekar scored an unbeaten 7.5/8, won the tournament on tie-breaks and gained 43.6 Elo rating points

Round 6: IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni - Arnav Kherdekar: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Mustafa Motiwala

Players in action | Photo: Mustafa Motiwala

The tournament hall at SMCA Chess School in Mumbai, Maharashtra | Photo: Mustafa Motiwala

A total of 223 players including an IM took part from all over the country in this six-day eight round Rating Open tournament. It was organized by and at SMCA Chess School in Mumbai, Maharashtra from 11th to 16th October 2024. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.

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Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5
1	5		Kherdekar, Arnav		IND	1846	7,5	41	45	41,25	7
2	1	IM	Kulkarni, Vikramaditya		IND	2185	7,5	38,5	40,5	36,75	7
3	3		Watarkar, Yash		IND	1963	7	38	40	34,25	6
4	19		Kumbhar, Kartik		IND	1680	6,5	37	39	30,25	5
5	27		Kshaunish, Prakash Jaiswal		IND	1641	6,5	37	39	29,75	6
6	4		Mishra, Sanjeev		IND	1885	6,5	36,5	40,5	31,25	6
7	16		Ishaan, A Tendolkar		IND	1712	6,5	35,5	38,5	30,50	6
8	26		Kulkarni, Guruprasad		IND	1644	6,5	35	39	30,25	6
9	11		Darsh, Shetty		IND	1798	6	42,5	46,5	31,50	6
10	2		Soni, Atharv		IND	1968	6	42,5	45,5	31,50	5
11	40		Yuti, Mayur Patel	w	IND	1580	6	42	45	31,75	5
12	14		Tarun, N		IND	1730	6	39	41,5	27,50	6
13	22		Laddad, Aadhavan Atish		IND	1657	6	38,5	42,5	30,50	6
14	32		Baviskar, Shubham C		IND	1603	6	38,5	41,5	30,00	5
15	10		Gada, Om		IND	1807	6	38	41	29,50	5