Kunal M conquers CMI Tessellate Rapid Rating Open 2024

by Shahid Ahmed - 14/02/2024

Kunal M scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win CMI Tessellate Rapid Rating Open 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the field. 11-year-old Sai Abhinav Kuchibhotla scored 8/9 to secure second place. He also remained undefeated. Four players - Joel E, Aadith R, Shravan Sriram and Mohit S scored 7.5/9 each. They were placed third to sixth respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹25000 + trophy, ₹20000 and ₹16000 each. The two-day rapid rating tournament was organized by Lotus Chess Academy and SVA Champions on 26th and 27th January 2024 at Chennai Mathematical Institute in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Kunal won the first rating tournament he played in 2024. Photos: V Rajaraman/Lotus Chess Academy

Top seed dominates the field

Top seed of the event, Kunal M scored four wins in-a-row twice. After round 4, he was held to a draw by 13-year-old Gautham A. Then he won the next four games to become a clear champion. Kunal was the sole leader 7.5/8 heading into the final round. He defeated veteran Sridhar C S to win the tournament. 11-year-old Sai Abhinav Kuchibhotla won against Rahul Bharadwaj B to finish second. Joel E drew with Aadith R to finish third.

Champion - Kunal M 8.5/9

Kunal M scored an unbeaten 8.5/9, finished a half point ahead of the field and one draw cost him 4.8 Elo rating points

The organizing team of Lotus Chess Academy and SVA Champions Chess Academy

A total of 300 players took part from various states across the country and one from Australia and USA each. The two-day nine round Rapid Rating tournament was organized by Lotus Chess Academy and SVA Champions Chess Academy at Chennai Mathematical Institute in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on 26th and 27th January 2024. The time control of the event was 20 minutes + 10 seconds increment.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	FED	RtgI	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5
1	1		Kunal, M.			IND	2059	TN	8,5	51,5	56	52,50	8
2	21		Sai, Abhinav Kuchibhotla	U12		IND	1488	TN	8	47,5	51,5	45,00	7
3	16		Joel, E			IND	1520	TN	7,5	49,5	53,5	42,25	6
4	13		Aadith, R			IND	1541	TN	7,5	49,5	52,5	43,25	7
5	24		Shravan, Sriram	U14		IND	1479	TN	7,5	48,5	53,5	42,75	7
6	12	AIM	Mohit, S	U14		IND	1544	TN	7,5	48,5	52,5	44,00	7
7	8		Rahul, Bharadwaj B			IND	1593	TN	7	54,5	58,5	42,00	7
8	9		Sridhar, C S	S55		IND	1567	TN	7	53	56,5	41,00	7
9	7	AIM	Premshankar, B U	U14		IND	1674	TN	7	53	56	41,00	7
10	15		Raghuraj, Pratap Singh			IND	1529	WB	7	50,5	54	39,00	6
11	26		Gautham, A	U14		IND	1465	TN	7	49,5	53,5	39,25	6
12	19		Aravindh, S			IND	1503	TN	7	48,5	52,5	39,50	7
13	22		Swarnamala, B		w	IND	1486	TN	7	47,5	49,5	36,00	7
14	99		Ivan, George E	U14		IND	1108	TN	7	47	49,5	37,75	6
15	31		Prem, Muthu Avaneesh	U14		USA	1431	TN	7	46	50	37,50	7
16	88		Monikandan, R			IND	1146	TN	7	46	48,5	35,50	7
17	41	AFM	Aravind, Matthews A C T			IND	1363	TN	7	45,5	49,5	34,50	7
18	28		Iniyan, R S	U14		IND	1452	TN	7	44,5	48,5	37,75	6
19	2	AGM	Sa, Kannan			IND	1741	TN	6,5	51,5	56	38,75	5
20	30		Manikanda, Prabhu B V			IND	1435	TN	6,5	48	52	34,25	6
21	62		Santhosh, V L	U14		IND	1247	TN	6,5	48	49,5	32,00	6
22	23		Kishore, Prajith	U12		IND	1485	TN	6,5	48	49	32,75	6
23	35		Manikandan, Tayalan			IND	1406	TN	6,5	46	49	33,25	6
24	36		Sridharan, Ramanathan	S55		IND	1405	TN	6,5	45,5	49,5	32,25	6
25	40		Pradiksha, P S	F14	w	IND	1364	TN	6,5	44,5	48	31,75	6
26	37		Danish, S V	U12		IND	1388	TN	6,5	43,5	47,5	32,00	6
27	14		Aswinika, Mani R		w	IND	1531	TN	6,5	43	46	31,75	6
28	33		Manikandan, Rangan			IND	1412	TN	6,5	42,5	46,5	32,25	6
29	56		Pazhaniappan, M			IND	1283	PUD	6,5	42,5	43,5	27,50	6
30	49		Kesavamoorthy, G	U14		IND	1308	TN	6,5	42	45,5	29,75	6