Prajwal P Shet prevails at 1st MAHE Bengaluru Rapid Rating Open 2024

by Shahid Ahmed - 28/12/2024

Dr. Prajwal P Shet and IM Sharan Rao scored an unbeaten 8/9 each at 1st MAHE Bengaluru Rapid Rating Open 2024. Prajwal won the tournament on tie-breaks and Sharan secured second place. The seventh round battle between them ended in a draw. Nine players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them, FM Ojas Kulkarni was placed third. The total prize fund was ₹400000. The top three prizes were ₹40000, ₹29000 and ₹19000 along with a trophy each. The two-day nine-round Swiss league rapid rating tournament was organized by and at Manipal Institute of Technology, Bengaluru in association with 64 Squares The Chess Club in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 7th and 8th December. This is Prajwal's fourth tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology, Bengaluru

Top two score 8/9

Dr. Prajwal P Shet was the sole leader 7.5/8, heading into the final round. Three players - IM Sharan Rao, FM Ojas Kulkarni and IM Senthil Maran K were trailing by a half point at 7/8 each. Prajwal drew with Ojas to win the tournament, Ojas finished third. Sharan defeated Senthil to secure second place. WFM Kalyani Sirin was the sole girl to make a top ten finish. She scored 7.5/9 to be placed eighth.

Champion - Dr. Prajwal P Shet 8/9 | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Runner-up - IM Sharan Rao 8/9 | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Second runner-up - Ojas Kulkarni 7.5/9 | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Top 3 (L to R): 2nd IM Sharan Rao 8/9, 1st Dr. Prajwal P Shet 8/9 and 3rd FM Ojas Kulkarni 7.5/9 | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Arjuna awardee IM D V Prasad scored 7.5/9 to finish fourth | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Dr. Prajwal P Shet during one of his games | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Prajwal P Shet scored an unbeaten 8/9, won the tournament on tie-breaks and gained 39.2 Elo rating points

Arvind Shastry made the inaugural first move | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

The tournament was inaugurated by Mr. Arvind Shastry, former General Secretary, Karnataka State Chess Association. Dr. Iven Jose, Director, MIT Bengaluru witnessed and supported the organizing team with his presence during the tournament. Dr. Raghavendra Prabhu, Deputy Registrar, MAHE Bengaluru distributed trophies, certificates and cash prize vouchers to the winners in various categories.

The tournament hall at Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru in Bengaluru, Karnataka | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

IM Sharan Rao, IM D V Prasad, Dr. Prajwal P Shet and WIM Isha Sharma played simultaneous exhibition games before the prize distribution ceremony against the age group and MAHE category prize winners | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Organizing Committee with Arvind Shastry | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Trophies for the prize winners | Photo: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru

Thanks to Dr. Manasa Kongot, the reigning Karnataka State Women's 2024 champion, for sharing photographs and information about the tournament.

A total of 340 players including six IMs and a WIM took part from various parts of India and one from the USA. The tournament was organized by Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru in association with 64 Squares - The Chess Club at MIT Bengaluru in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 7th and 8th December 2024. The nine-round Swiss league Rapid Rating tournament had a time control of 20 minutes + 5 seconds increment from move no.1.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	RtgI	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5
1	9		Shet, Prajwal P				IND	2075	8	55	59,5	51,75	7
2	1	IM	Sharan, Rao				IND	2209	8	54	57,5	49,75	7
3	6	FM	Ojas, Kulkarni				IND	2100	7,5	54,5	59,5	49,00	7
4	12	IM	Prasad, Devaki V	S60			IND	2026	7,5	51,5	56	45,00	7
5	8	AGM	Vignesh, B				IND	2077	7,5	51,5	56	44,75	7
6	11	FM	Syed Anwar, Shazuli				IND	2038	7,5	51	55	43,75	7
7	4	FM	Gajwa, Ankit				IND	2147	7,5	51	53	42,00	7
8	18	WFM	Kalyani, Sirin	F14	w		IND	1938	7,5	50,5	52,5	41,25	7
9	2	IM	Gusain, Himal				IND	2199	7,5	48,5	53,5	43,50	6
10	28	IM	Ravi, Thandalam Shanmugam				IND	1840	7,5	47,5	51,5	41,50	7
11	30		Girinath, B S				IND	1818	7,5	44,5	48,5	39,25	7
12	5	IM	Senthil, Maran K				IND	2126	7	55	58,5	43,25	6
13	14	IM	Ramnathan, Balasubramaniam				IND	1978	7	48,5	50,5	36,75	6
14	24	WCM	Pratitee, Bordoloi	F12	w		IND	1867	7	48	51	37,50	7
15	73		Yash, Bijlani				IND	1582	7	46,5	50,5	37,00	7
16	33		Abhinav, Anand	U10			IND	1795	7	46,5	49,5	35,00	7
17	27	AGM	Rutherford, S				IND	1847	7	45	50	38,00	7
18	57		Anandhi, P	F14	w		IND	1619	7	44	45,5	32,50	7
19	3	WIM	Sharma, Isha		w	SP	IND	2150	6,5	53	57	39,25	5
20	7	FM	Phoobalan, P.				IND	2080	6,5	53	56	38,75	6
21	22		Sudarshan, Bhat				IND	1881	6,5	52,5	56	37,25	6
22	10		Arpan, Das (Jr)				IND	2070	6,5	52,5	56	36,75	6
23	15		Augustin, A				IND	1957	6,5	50,5	54,5	35,75	6
24	17		Peter Anand, A				IND	1952	6,5	50	54	36,75	6
25	123		Akash, Somasundaram				IND	1466	6,5	50	52	34,75	6
26	19		Leelajai, Krishna N				IND	1912	6,5	49,5	54,5	36,75	6
27	25		Sachin, Kamath				IND	1865	6,5	49	52,5	35,25	6
28	32	AFM	Vivaan, Sachdev	U14			IND	1801	6,5	48,5	52,5	34,00	6
29	31		Aaditya, Ranjan Sahu	U14			IND	1802	6,5	48	51,5	34,00	6
30	47		Vrishank, Royadu	U14			IND	1656	6,5	47,5	50,5	33,75	6