Himal Gusain dominates 3rd Knight Chess Academy Karunagapally Rating Open 2025
India's highest rated IM - Himal Gusain scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 3rd Knight Chess Academy Karunagapally Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Ram S Krishnan scored sole 8/9 to secure second place. He also remained undefeated. Three players - Ajinraj, Abdallah M Nisthar and Dipesh Seeraj K S scored 7.5/9 each. They were placed third to fifth respectively according to tie-breaks. Himal's sole draw was against the eventual runner-up, Ram in the sixth round. The total prize fund was ₹400000. The top three prizes were ₹40000, ₹30000 and ₹20000 along with a trophy each. The five-day nine round rating tournament was organized by Knight Chess Academy Karunagapally at Fatima Mata National College in Kollam, Kerala from 10th to 14th April 2025. This is Himal's second rating tournament triumph of the year. Photos: Unnikrishnan P G / Knight Chess Academy Karunagapally
No tie-breaks needed for top two
Top seed, IM Himal Gusain and Ram S Krishnan were the coleaders 7.5/8, heading into the last round. Ajinraj, Sham R and Abdallah M Nisthar were trailing them by a half point at 7/8 each. Himal defeated Sham to become the champion. Ram drew with Abdallah to finish second. Ajinraj also drew his game against Devnath Bijesh to claim third place. Himal also went on to win Locarno Swiss Lake Open 2025 in Switzerland, less than a fortnight after this. It will be mentioned in detail in a separate report.
A total of 392 players including an IM took part from various parts of India. The five-day nine round rating tournament was organized by Knight Chess Academy Karunagapally at Fatima Mata National College in Kollam, Kerala from 10th to 14th April 2025. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | RtgI | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | Rp | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | IM | Gusain, Himal | IND | 2526 | 2526 | Chandigarh | 8,5 | 51,5 | 56 | 52,00 | 0 | 8 | 2204 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Ram, S. Krishnan | IND | 2028 | 2028 | Tamil Nadu | 8 | 52 | 56,5 | 48,50 | 0 | 7 | 2164 | ||||
| 3 | 39 | Ajinraj, | IND | 1739 | 1739 | Kerala (Klm) | 7,5 | 52,5 | 57,5 | 47,00 | 0 | 7 | 2042 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | Abdallah, M Nisthar | IND | 1934 | 1934 | Kerala (Klm) | 7,5 | 51 | 56 | 45,75 | 0 | 6 | 1979 | ||||
| 5 | 25 | Dipesh, Seeraj K S | IND | 1784 | 1784 | Tamil Nadu | 7,5 | 46 | 48 | 39,00 | 0 | 7 | 1859 | ||||
| 6 | 2 | Sham, R | IND | 2126 | 2126 | Tamil Nadu | 7 | 54,5 | 58,5 | 44,00 | 0 | 6 | 2011 | ||||
| 7 | 24 | Pranav, Chandra Mohan | IND | 1788 | 1788 | Kerala | 7 | 53,5 | 58 | 42,75 | 0 | 6 | 1975 | ||||
| 8 | 11 | Devnath, Bijesh | U15 | IND | 1886 | 1886 | Kerala | 7 | 51 | 54 | 40,50 | 0 | 5 | 1863 | |||
| 9 | 14 | Unnikrishnan, M A | IND | 1854 | 1854 | Kerala | 7 | 50,5 | 55 | 41,25 | 0 | 6 | 1878 | ||||
| 10 | 40 | Sooriya, B Y | IND | 1739 | 1739 | Tamil Nadu | 7 | 49 | 52 | 37,00 | 0 | 6 | 1930 | ||||
| 11 | 10 | Kanishkaraj, V | IND | 1903 | 1903 | Tamil Nadu | 7 | 48,5 | 52,5 | 38,50 | 0 | 7 | 1846 | ||||
| 12 | 19 | Akshay, A R | IND | 1822 | 1822 | Kerala | 7 | 48,5 | 52,5 | 38,00 | 0 | 6 | 1886 | ||||
| 13 | 21 | Giridhar, A | IND | 1809 | 1809 | Kerala | 7 | 48,5 | 50 | 37,75 | 0 | 5 | 1816 | ||||
| 14 | 29 | Anecx, Kanjiravila B C | U15 | IND | 1766 | 1766 | Kerala | 7 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 38,50 | 0 | 6 | 1852 | |||
| 15 | 7 | AGM | Rutherford, S | IND | 1924 | 1924 | Tamil Nadu | 7 | 47 | 51,5 | 38,50 | 0 | 6 | 1877 | |||
| 16 | 36 | Sreehari, S | IND | 1742 | 1742 | Kerala | 7 | 45,5 | 49,5 | 38,25 | 0 | 6 | 1824 | ||||
| 17 | 30 | Kesavan, G | IND | 1766 | 1766 | Tamil Nadu | 7 | 45,5 | 48 | 35,25 | 0 | 6 | 1844 | ||||
| 18 | 48 | Alfred, Joe Johns | U15 | IND | 1702 | 1702 | Kerala | 7 | 44 | 46,5 | 34,00 | 0 | 6 | 1819 | |||
| 19 | 33 | AIM | Muthukumar, Mukesh | U15 | IND | 1750 | 1750 | Tamil Nadu | 7 | 43,5 | 45 | 32,00 | 0 | 7 | 1822 | ||
| 20 | 28 | Manikanda, Prabhu B V | IND | 1770 | 1770 | Tamil Nadu | 6,5 | 52 | 56 | 37,50 | 0 | 5 | 1864 | ||||
| 21 | 41 | Devanarayanan, Kalliyath | U09 | IND | 1733 | 1733 | Kerala | 6,5 | 52 | 55 | 35,50 | 0 | 6 | 1945 | |||
| 22 | 6 | Sreekumar, P. | IND | 1926 | 1926 | Kerala | 6,5 | 51,5 | 55,5 | 38,25 | 0 | 5 | 1824 | ||||
| 23 | 26 | Ameya, A R | F15 | w | IND | 1782 | 1782 | Kerala | 6,5 | 49 | 51 | 34,25 | 0 | 5 | 1804 | ||
| 24 | 12 | Lukesh, A | IND | 1860 | 1860 | Tamil Nadu | 6,5 | 48 | 52,5 | 36,50 | 0 | 6 | 1778 | ||||
| 25 | 15 | Siva, Adithyan S | U15 | IND | 1853 | 1853 | Tamil Nadu | 6,5 | 46,5 | 52 | 36,75 | 0 | 6 | 1750 | |||
| 26 | 23 | Ryan, Dominic | U15 | IND | 1790 | 1790 | Kerala | 6,5 | 46,5 | 50,5 | 33,50 | 0 | 5 | 1773 | |||
| 27 | 79 | Jeevan, Maheswar | IND | 1617 | 1617 | Kerala | 6,5 | 46,5 | 48,5 | 32,25 | 0 | 6 | 1838 | ||||
| 28 | 34 | Abhinav, M B | U15 | IND | 1747 | 1747 | Kerala | 6,5 | 46 | 50 | 32,25 | 0 | 6 | 1787 | |||
| 29 | 50 | Akhil, Vijayakumar | IND | 1701 | 1701 | Kerala | 6,5 | 45,5 | 48 | 32,25 | 0 | 6 | 1711 | ||||
| 30 | 51 | Aarav, Ajith | U15 | IND | 1697 | 1697 | Kerala | 6,5 | 45 | 48 | 32,75 | 0 | 5 | 1726 | |||
| 31 | 59 | Kevin, Savio | U15 | IND | 1670 | 1670 | Tamil Nadu | 6,5 | 45 | 47,5 | 31,25 | 0 | 6 | 1775 | |||
| 32 | 31 | Rejath, Renjith | U15 | IND | 1765 | 1765 | Kerala | 6,5 | 44,5 | 48,5 | 33,50 | 0 | 6 | 1756 | |||
| 33 | 32 | Meiyappan, M | U15 | IND | 1754 | 1754 | Tamil Nadu | 6,5 | 44 | 48 | 34,50 | 0 | 5 | 1713 | |||
| 34 | 73 | ACM | Tanmay, R | U12 | IND | 1629 | 1629 | Maharashtra | 6,5 | 44 | 48 | 32,75 | 0 | 5 | 1776 | ||
| 35 | 61 | Jean, Mani Joseph T | IND | 1658 | 1658 | Kerala | 6,5 | 43 | 47 | 32,25 | 0 | 6 | 1727 | ||||
| 36 | 53 | Satyaki, G Gokul | U15 | IND | 1687 | 1687 | Kerala | 6,5 | 42,5 | 46,5 | 31,50 | 0 | 6 | 1715 | |||
| 37 | 60 | Shivnandan, S | IND | 1660 | 1660 | Kerala | 6,5 | 42,5 | 45,5 | 29,50 | 0 | 6 | 1711 | ||||
| 38 | 57 | Neerad, P | U15 | IND | 1678 | 1678 | Kerala | 6,5 | 41,5 | 45 | 30,75 | 0 | 6 | 1726 | |||
| 39 | 134 | Lenin, A G | IND | 1500 | 1500 | Tamil Nadu | 6,5 | 39,5 | 43,5 | 29,00 | 0 | 6 | 1728 | ||||
| 40 | 90 | Janaki, S D | F12 | w | IND | 1575 | 1575 | Kerala (Klm) | 6 | 52 | 54 | 34,25 | 0 | 4 | 1801 |
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