Shreyas Ghadi triumphs at 1st BDCA Below 1800 Rating 2025

by Shahid Ahmed - 23/06/2025

Shreyas Ghadi scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win 1st BDCA Below 1800 Rating Tournament 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Nine players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them 292nd seeded, unrated Kusagra Saxena secured second place and Rishikesh Parab third, according to tie-breaks. Shreyas drew against the eventual second runner-up, Rishikesh in Round 8. Apart from Shreyas, Rishikesh also remained undefeated. The total prize fund was ₹324000. The top three prizes were ₹35000, ₹25000 and ₹20000 along with a trophy each. The three-day nine round Below 1800 Rating tournament was organized by Belgaum District Chess Association at KPTCL Samudaya Bhavan in Belagavi, Karnataka from 29th to 31st May 2025. This is Shreyas' first rating tournament triumph of his career. Photo: FA Aakash G Madiwalar / Belgaum District Chess Association

Shreyas' first rating tournament triumph of his career

Shreyas Ghadi was the sole leader 7.5/8 heading into the last round. Five players - Kusagra Saxena, Rishikesh Parab, Vivan Soni, Thejas K and Raees Ahmed Khan were trailing by a half point at 7/8 each. Shreyas drew with Raees to become a clear champion. Kusagra shared the point against Vivan to secure second place. Thejas also split the point with Rishikesh who finished third.

Top 3 (L to R): 2nd Kusagra Saxena 7.5/9, 1st Shreyas Ghadi 8/9 and 3rd Rishikesh Parab 7.5/9 | Photo: FA Aakash G Madiwalar / Belgaum District Chess Association

Shreyas Ghadi scored an unbeaten 8/9, finished a half point ahead of the rest and gained 35.8 Elo rating points

Closing ceremony | Photo: FA Aakash G Madiwalar / Belgaum District Chess Association

The guests present at the closing ceremony were - Mrs. Tejaswini Kulkarni, Incharge CSR Polyhydron, MJF Rajesh Hiremath, Lions Member, Captain Chandrakant Kadolkar, owner Vijayata Sports, Anurag Khannur, Khannur group of institutes, Girish Bachikar, Tournament Director, IA Vasanth B H, Chief Arbiter and FA Aakash Madiwalar, Deputy Chief Arbiter.

Thanks to FA Aakash G Madiwalar for sharing photos and information about the tournament.

A total of 440 players took part from various parts of the country and four from Malaysia. The three-day nine round Below 1800 Rating tournament was organized by Belgaum District Chess Association at KPTCL Samudaya Bhavan in Belagavi, Karnataka from 29th to 31st May 2025. The time control of the event was 45 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	6		Shreyas Ghadi,				IND	1743	MH	8	53	57	49,50
2	292		Kusagra Saxena,				IND	0	UP	7,5	55	61	49,75
3	7		Parab, Rishikesh				IND	1738	GA	7,5	52,5	55,5	44,00
4	3		Soni, Vivan	U11			IND	1769	MH	7,5	52	55	43,25
5	2		Tikam, Aradhya				IND	1774	MH	7,5	51,5	56	45,50
6	10		Ramachandra Bhat,	S55		10185KSCA2023	IND	1695	KA	7,5	50,5	53,5	43,25
7	9		Thejas K,			BLU180815	IND	1696	KA	7,5	49,5	54	42,25
8	4		Apurv, Shekhar Desmukh				IND	1766	MH	7,5	49,5	53	43,00
9	46		Pednekar, Balkrishna				IND	1562	MH	7,5	46,5	48,5	40,25
10	33		Khan Raees Ahmed,			BGM180786	IND	1592	KA-BLG	7,5	45	48,5	40,00
11	8		Padhi Kamal Lochan,				IND	1726	OR	7	50,5	55,5	41,25
12	98		Tavare Atharva,	U15			IND	1485	MH	7	50	52	37,75
13	13		Aarth, Siddhesh Shenvi Karapurkar	U15			IND	1686	GA	7	49,5	52,5	38,50
14	35		Mamilla Yugandhar,				IND	1591	AP	7	49	52	37,50
15	28		Prajwal M Joshi,			13506KSCA2023	IND	1632	KA	7	47,5	52	39,00
16	51		Vaishnavi Vijay Parab,	F15	w		IND	1552	GA	7	47,5	50,5	36,25
17	31		Chopdekar, Aarav	U15			IND	1627	GA	7	47	50,5	37,50
18	352		Sagar Shashikant Vernekar,			27000KSCA2026	IND	0	KA-BLG	7	45,5	49,5	37,75
19	12		Vihaan Tari,	U11			IND	1688	GA	7	45,5	46,5	34,00
20	19		Abhineeth, Bhat	U15		UKA211508	IND	1667	KA	7	45	48	35,00
21	17		Abhishek, I Ganiger			11571KSCA2023	IND	1672	KA	6,5	52	56,5	37,25
22	14		Swarnamala B,		w	26509KSCA2026	IND	1685	KA	6,5	50	54,5	36,25
23	22	AFM	Pawar Sohum,				IND	1658	MH	6,5	48,5	51,5	33,75
24	1		Patil, Abhishek				IND	1779	MH	6,5	48,5	50,5	33,00
25	21		Sahrudh, M P	U13			IND	1660	AP	6,5	48	52	34,75
26	44		Simra Nadaf,	F13	w	10031KSCA2023	IND	1565	KA	6,5	48	51	33,75
27	29	AGM	Vilas Andrade,	U15		SHI180888	IND	1631	KA	6,5	47,5	49,5	31,25
28	40		Hriday, Tukaram Morajkar	U15			IND	1573	GA	6,5	47	50	33,00
29	43		Revana Siddayya G N,			12847KSCA2023	IND	1565	KA	6,5	46	48	30,00
30	42		Niraj Giridhar Desai,			10078KSCA2023	IND	1568	KA	6,5	45,5	50	34,00