Siddhanth Poonja dominates 21st BRDCA Rapid Rating Open 2025

by Shahid Ahmed - 09/09/2025

Siddhanth Poonja scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 21st BRDCA Rapid Rating Open 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Sailesh R, FM Rohit S and IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam scored 8/9 each. They secured second, third and fourth place respectively according to tie-breaks. Siddhanth defeated the eventual second runner-up, Rohit in the seventh round and drew against the runner-up, Sailesh in the final round. The total prize fund was ₹250000. The top three prizes were ₹30000, ₹25000 and ₹20000 along with a trophy each. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by BRDCA at Sri Manjunatha Swamy Kalyanamantapa, Hosakote in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 15th August 2025. This is Siddhanth's third rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: BRDCA

Siddhanth's second rating tournament triumph in a week

12-year-old Siddhanth Poonja made a fantastic start by winning eight games in-a-row. He was the sole leader heading into the final round. Sailesh R was the only player trailing him by a half point. A draw was enough for Siddhanth to become a champion. That's what he did against Sailesh who secured second place. FM Pranav K P lost to FM Rohit S who finished third. Siddhanth won 13th CircleChess Rapid Rating Open 2025 on 10th August and five days later he won this event.

Champion - Siddhanth Poonja 8.5/9 | Photo: BRDCA

Top 3 (L to R): 3rd FM Rohit S 8/9, 1st Siddhanth Poonja 8.5/9 and 2nd Sailesh R 8/9 | Photo: BRDCA

Siddhanth Poonja scored an unbeaten 8.5/9, finished a half point ahead of the competition and gained 60.8 Elo rating points

The tournament hall - Sri Manjunatha Swamy Kalyanamantapa, Hosakote in Bengaluru, Karnataka | Photo: BRDCA

A total of 517 players including an IM took part from all over the country, one from Canada and England each, three from the USA. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by BRDCA (Bengaluru Rural District Chess Association) at Sri Manjunatha Swamy Kalyanamantapa, Hosakote in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 15th August 2025. The time control of the event was 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5	TB6
1	5		Siddhanth, Poonja	U15		10535KSCA2023	IND	2067	8,5	56	60,5	56,5	8	4
2	11		Sailesh, R			TN	IND	1965	8	57	61,5	53,5	7	2
3	9	FM	Rohit, S			TN	IND	2010	8	52	55,5	47	8	5
4	4	IM	Ramnathan, Balasubramaniam	S51		TN	IND	2077	8	51	56	49	7	2
5	8		Bhosale, Shriraj			MH	IND	2040	7,5	54,5	58,5	46,8	7	3
6	1	AGM	Vignesh, B			TN	IND	2216	7,5	52,5	54	43,5	7	4
7	7		Arul, Anandh S P K			17690KSCA2024	IND	2046	7,5	51,5	55	45	7	4
8	26		Adarsh, D	U15		10095KSCA2023	IND	1772	7,5	51	54	42	7	4
9	6	FM	Ojas, Kulkarni			BLU160216	IND	2065	7,5	51	53	41,5	7	3
10	2		Lokesh, N.			TN	IND	2119	7,5	50,5	54	43,8	7	3
11	35		Samanth, Nataraj Naidu	U12		10444KSCA2023	IND	1707	7,5	47,5	51	39,5	7	5
12	38		Shreesuday, Behera	U15		10660KSCA2023	IND	1699	7,5	47	52	41,8	7	2
13	25	WCM	Swara, Lakshmi S Nair		w	10903KSCA2023	IND	1796	7	52,5	56,5	42,5	7	3
14	12		Prajesh, R			TN	IND	1964	7	52,5	55	39,5	7	3
15	3	FM	Pranav, K P			TN	IND	2089	7	52	57	42	7	3
16	10	AIM	Vivaan, Sachdev	U15		10091KSCA2023	IND	1978	7	52	56,5	43	6	3
17	19		Manigandan, S S			TN	IND	1890	7	51,5	54,5	39,8	6	2
18	28		Akash, S			TN	IND	1748	7	50,5	54,5	40,8	6	3
19	41		Jeevanandham,			17411KSCA2024	IND	1681	7	50	54,5	39,5	7	5
20	23		Neil Franclin, S			TN	IND	1826	7	50	53	38,5	7	4
21	17		Aakash, K P			TN	IND	1905	7	50	52,5	37,5	7	4
22	32	AFM	Venkata, Naga Karthik Malladi	U12		10217KSCA2023	IND	1721	7	49	53	39	7	3
23	34		Sai, Kiran G V			TN	IND	1713	7	49	52	36,5	7	2
24	29	AGM	Sagar, Praveen			10425KSCA2023	IND	1742	7	48,5	53,5	39	7	3
25	13		Anirudh, R			TN	IND	1946	7	48,5	52	39	6	4