Manish Anto Cristiano marvels at 2nd Smart Chess Academy Karur Rapid Rating Open 2025

by Shahid Ahmed - 02/10/2025

IM Manish Anto Cristiano F scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 2nd Smart Chess Academy Karur Rapid Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the field. GM Laxman R R, IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam and Tarun V scored 8/9 each. They secured second, third and fourth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Manish defeated the eventual runner-up, Laxman in the seventh round. The total prize fund was ₹240000. The top three prizes were ₹20000, ₹17500 and ₹15000 along with a trophy each. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating tournament was organized by Smart Chess Academy, Karur at Arasu College of Arts & Science for Women in Karur, Tamil Nadu on 7th September 2025. This is Manish's first rating tournament triumph of the year.

Manish's first rating tournament triumph of the year

IM Nitin S and IM Manish Anto Cristiano F were the coleaders 7.5/8 each, heading into the last round. Manish defeated Gokul Krishna S to become a clear champion. CM Naveen Kumar P suffered defeat against GM Laxman R R who secured second place. Nitin lost to IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam and the latter finished third.

Champion - IM Manish Anto Cristiano F 8.5/9

Interview with IM Manish Anto Cristiano F | Video: ChessBase India

Runner-up - GM Laxman R R 8/9 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Second Runner-up - IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam 8/9 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

Top 3 (L to R): 3rd IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam 8/9, 1st IM Manish Anto Cristiano F 8.5/9 and 2nd GM Laxman R R 8/9 | Photo: SNA Manigandan R / Smart Chess Academy, Karur

IM Manish Anto Cristiano F scored an unbeaten 8.5/9, finished a half point ahead of the rest and gained 33.2 Elo rating points

Players in action | Photo: SNA Manigandan R / Smart Chess Academy, Karur

A total of 583 players including two GMs and four IMs took part from various parts of the country and two from Germany. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating tournament was organized by Smart Chess Academy, Karur at Arasu College of Arts & Science for Women in Karur, Tamil Nadu on 7th September 2025. The time control of the event was 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5	K	rtg+/-
1	6	IM	Manish Anto Cristiano F	U20		11824CGL2025	IND	2149	TN	8,5	51	54	50,3	0	8	20	33,2
2	3	GM	Laxman R.R.			41/CHE/LIFE	IND	2219	ICF	8	54	55	46,5	0	8	10	4
3	10	IM	Ramnathan Balasubramaniam			48/CHE/LIFE	IND	2045	TN	8	51	54	46,5	0	8	20	26,4
4	16		Tarun V	U20		26301SLM2025	IND	1895	TN	8	48,5	50,5	44,5	0	8	20	15,4
5	5	IM	Nitin S.			104/SLM/LIFE	IND	2182	TN	7,5	56	60	47,8	0	7	10	5,9
6	2	IM	Hari Madhavan N B			9566CHE2025	IND	2299	TN	7,5	54,5	58	46,8	0	6	20	-3
7	9		Sham R			4872CHE2025	IND	2062	TN	7,5	53,5	58,5	46,8	0	7	20	12,2
8	1	GM	Srihari L R	U20		9590CGL2025	IND	2385	TN	7,5	53,5	57	45,8	0	7	20	-7,2
9	19		Nigash G	U20		4416ERO2025	IND	1862	TN	7,5	52,5	56,5	45,3	0	7	40	72,4
10	14	CM	Lakshmi Narayanan M V			26406DGL2025	IND	1963	TN	7,5	52	55,5	44,3	0	7	20	17,2
11	4	AGM	Vignesh B			9624CGL2025	IND	2204	TN	7,5	51,5	56	46	0	7	20	-16,4
12	11	FM	Syed Anwar Shazuli			31449TLR2025	IND	2033	TN	7,5	47,5	50	40,5	0	6	20	-8,8
13	12		Gokul Krishna S	U20		7618TPR2025	IND	2019	TN	7	53	57	40,5	0	7	40	5,6
14	17		Srihari K R	U20		7652TPR2025	IND	1874	TN	7	52,5	54,5	40,8	0	6	20	3,4
15	13	CM	Sarveshwaran V	U20		3913CBE2025	IND	2014	TN	7	52,5	54,5	39	0	7	40	-16,8
16	8		Sailesh R	U20		2615CHE2025	IND	2071	TN	7	52,5	54	39	0	7	20	-13,8
17	15	CM	Naveen Kumar P	U20		7500TNV2025	IND	1921	TN	7	52	56	40,5	0	7	40	53,2
18	30		Ram Kumar G M			11207KKI2025	IND	1774	TN	7	51,5	55	40	0	7	20	30,2
19	7	FM	Prasannaa.S			11203TLR2025	IND	2113	TN	7	50	54	39,8	0	6	20	-21,8
20	32	AGM	Mehul S U	U20		5195KKI2025	IND	1755	TN	7	50	53	39	0	7	40	29,6
21	57	AIM	Harish K K	U15		25822ERO2025	IND	1655	TN	7	49,5	53,5	38	0	7	40	88,4
22	20		Aakash K P	U20		2283CGL2025	IND	1860	TN	7	49,5	52,5	38	0	7	20	3
23	55		Mithiran A	U15		6574SLM2025	IND	1667	TN	7	49,5	52,5	37,5	0	7	40	67,6
24	34		Kesavan G			11353ERO2025	IND	1743	TN	7	48,5	50,5	37,5	0	6	20	8
25	106		Shiva Sabhari Pg	U20		5427KAR2025	IND	1531	TN-K	7	48	50	36,8	0	6	20	53,4
26	28		Nikiilesh A U	U20		11034CBE2025	IND	1799	TN	7	48	50	36,3	0	6	40	12
27	29		Vishweswaran N	U20		4330DGL2025	IND	1780	TN	7	47,5	51,5	38	0	7	40	6
28	22		Femil Chelladurai	F20	w	5060KKI2025	IND	1835	TN	7	47	50,5	37	0	6	20	17
29	56		Gurupranav P	U12		4815ERO2025	IND	1657	TN	7	46,5	50,5	36,5	0	6	40	52,8
30	25		Paresh S	U15		6580SLM2025	IND	1818	TN	7	46,5	50,5	36	0	7	40	1,2