Sharan Rao convincingly clinches 6th Kudremukh Trophy Rapid Rating Open 2024

by Shahid Ahmed - 27/01/2024

IM Sharan Rao scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 6th Kudremukh Trophy Rapid Rating Open 2024. 11-year-old FM Aaron Reeve Mendes (CAN), Mandar Pradip Lad and Augustin A scored 8/9 each. They were placed second, third and fourth according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹300000. The top three prizes were ₹30000, ₹20000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy each. This was Sharan's first rating tournament in 2024 and he won it convincingly. He also won his last event he played in 2023, a Blitz Open tournament with a perfect score - 9/9. Photos: IA Vasanth B H

Sharan starts 2024 the same way he ended 2023

IM Sharan Rao and IM Ritviz Parab were the coleaders 7.5/8 heading into the final round. Seven players were trailing them by a half point. Sharan defeated Pradeep Kumar R A and FM Aaron Reeve Mendes (CAN) scored a win against Ritviz. Mandar Pradip Lad registered a victory over Dhanush Ram M. Sharan became a clear champion, Aaron second and Mandar third. Aaron is also the youngest finisher among top 25.

Champion - IM Sharan Rao 8.5/9

Runner-up - FM Aaron Reeve Mendes (CAN) 8/9

Second Runner-up - Mandar Pradip Lad 8/9

Sharan Rao in action

IM Sharan Rao scored an unbeaten 8.5/9, finished a half point ahead of the field and gained 12.1 Elo rating points

A total of 373 players including 3 IMs took part from various states across the country and one from Canada. The two-day nine round Rapid Rating tournament was organized by KIOCL Ltd. at KSRC Nehru Bhavan, Kavoor in Mangaluru, Karnataka on 6th and 7th January 2024. The time control of the event was 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	4	IM	Sharan Rao,			10519KSCA2023	IND	2150	Ka-Dk	8,5	52,5	57	53,25
2	2	FM	Aaron Reeve Mendes,	U12			CAN	2190	Can	8	51	56	50,00
3	8		Lad Mandar Pradip,				IND	2017	Ga	8	50	54,5	47,00
4	10		Augustin A,			10441KSCA2023	IND	1910	Ka	8	48	51	45,00
5	5	IM	Ritviz, Parab				IND	2133	Ga	7,5	53,5	57,5	45,25
6	9	FM	Syed Anwar Shazuli,				IND	1998	Tn	7,5	53	57	45,00
7	13		Manigandan, S S				IND	1892	Tn	7,5	50	55	45,25
8	6	FM	Senthil Maran K,			11833TLR2023	IND	2084	Tn	7,5	50	54	44,00
9	20		Dhanush Ram M,			10344KSCA2023	IND	1785	Ka-Dk	7	54,5	58,5	42,00
10	3	FM	Gahan M G,			13544KSCA2023	IND	2182	Ka-Dk	7	53	55,5	40,75
11	21		Tarun, V				IND	1738	Tn	7	51,5	56,5	41,75
12	1		Pradeep, Kumar R A				IND	2286	Tn	7	51	55	40,50
13	19		Anup, Shankar R				IND	1786	Tn	7	50,5	55,5	40,00
14	18		Gugan G,				IND	1793	Tn	7	50,5	54	39,00
15	11		Sailesh, R				IND	1905	Tn	7	49	54	41,00
16	66		Adrij, Bhattacharyya	U14		10373KSCA2023	IND	1312	Ka-Dk	7	49	51,5	37,50
17	26		Sibi, Srinivas Einstein				IND	1689	Tg	7	48,5	52,5	38,00
18	12	FM	Sharma, R. Preetham			10584KSCA2023	IND	1899	Ka	7	48	51	37,50
19	23	AGM	Lakshith B Salian,			10368KSCA2023	IND	1698	Ka-Dk	7	47,5	52	37,00
20	17		Sudarshan Bhat,			BLU170426	IND	1808	Ka	7	46,5	50,5	36,50
21	34		Leelajai Krishna N,			CKM191300	IND	1527	Ka	7	46,5	50,5	36,00
22	15		Raghav, Srivathsav V				IND	1888	Tg	7	44,5	48,5	37,50
23	36	WCM	Shriyana S Mallya,	U14	w	DKA160020	IND	1515	Ka-Dk	7	43	46	33,00
24	14	IM	Hegde, Ravi Gopal	S60			IND	1889	Ka	6,5	51	55	36,50
25	40		Ekka, Aniket	U14			IND	1468	Ga	6,5	51	53,5	36,25