14-year-old Aakash G clinches 74th Tamil Nadu State Open Rating 2024 convincingly
Top seed of the tournament, Aakash G scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win 74th Tamil Nadu State Open Rating 2024. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. Nine players scored 7.5/9 each. Out of them, Vignesh B and Sivan S Roshan secured second and third place according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹50000 + trophy, ₹30000 and ₹20000 each. The five-day rating tournament was organized by Coimbatore District Chess Association at Hindusthan College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 27th to 31st May 2024. This is Aakash's second consecutive Tamil Nadu State tournament triumph within a fortnight. Before this, Aakash won the Tamil Nadu State Under-15 Open 2024. Photos: IA R Anantharam
Aakash wins two Tamil Nadu State titles in two weeks
CM Aakash G of Coimbatore, a former under-9 national champion had two successive state championships under his belt in a space of one week, when he won the Tamil Nadu State Open championship at Hindusthan College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore. He was the outright winner scoring eight points, pipping nine other player by half a point. He won the sub junior title earlier at Pudukottai.
G Aakash received a laptop, in addition to the regular cash prize. Among the nine players who vied for the top ranks.
The seventh round win over former Tamil Nadu state junior champion P Maheswaran of Sivakasi was the turning point for Aakash to win the title.
On the way to the title, Aakash had two draws, one against R Anirudh in the fourth round and another against the second ranked B Vignesh. Vignesh of Chengaplattu had a superior tiebreak to be declared runner-up.
A good game by Vignesh against the state under-17 runner-up, S Gokul Krishna of Tirupur.
While the top two seeds played true to their seeding, no other top ten seeded player was placed within the first six ranks. 37th seeded 16-year-old Sivan S Roshan was the surprise winner of the second runner-up position, scoring six wins and three draws. Draws against third and fourth seeded MV Lakshmi Narayanan of Kodaikanal and Ram S Krishnan of BSNL helped Sivan S Roshan to clinch the third place.
The fourth place went to 14-year-old Saisarvesh S of Chennai. Saisarvesh got the better of former under-12 state champion P Vignesh Kannan to achieve fourth place.
Recently crowned Tamil Nadu state under-17 champion V S Nandish of Coimbatore had a win over V Tarun of Salem, enabling him to propel to the fifth place.
Though Haridev lost to KG Hiren in the seventh round, he managed to pull two wins in-a-row to secure sixth place.
Jack Samuel spoiled the chances of fourth seeded Ram S Krishnan by splitting the point in the final round. Jack finished tenth and former national rapid champion Ram could muster only the 19th place.
The 74th open state championship is thus far the best one, attracting more than 500 players. The Secretary, FT FA K Dhanasekar, guided by the state chess association, Vice-President - IA V Vijayaraghavan and the district team did a good groundwork to make the tournament a successful one.
The venue Hindusthan College of Arts & Science is a regular supporter of chess, organising many state championships, rating tournaments and inter university tournaments. It admits chess players to the college, providing free admission, boarding and lodging.
A total of 502 players participated from various districts of Tamil Nadu in this five-day nine round State Rating Open tournament. It was organized by Coimbatore District Chess Association at Hindusthan College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 27th to 31st May 2024. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | Gr | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | CM | Aakash, G | U17 | 25832CBE2024 | 2241 | Coimbatore | 8 | 52,5 | 57,5 | 50,75 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 2 | AGM | Vignesh, B | 9624CGL2024 | 2220 | Chengalpattu | 7,5 | 54,5 | 59 | 47,50 | 0 | 6 | |
| 3 | 37 | Sivan, S Roshan | 23673CHE2024 | 1798 | Chennai | 7,5 | 52,5 | 55 | 44,25 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 32 | Saisarvesh, S | U17 | 2336TLR2024 | 1813 | Tiruvallur | 7,5 | 52 | 56 | 45,00 | 0 | 6 | |
| 5 | 17 | Nandish, V S | U17 | 3898CBE2024 | 1899 | Coimbatore | 7,5 | 51,5 | 56,5 | 45,50 | 0 | 6 | |
| 6 | 12 | Haridev, S | U17 | 3718CHE2024 | 1931 | Chennai | 7,5 | 50,5 | 54,5 | 44,00 | 0 | 7 | |
| 7 | 3 | CM | Lakshmi, Narayanan M V | 26406DGL2024 | 2137 | Dindigul | 7,5 | 50 | 54,5 | 43,75 | 0 | 6 | |
| 8 | 8 | CM | Shadhursshaan, R | U17 | 9230VNR2024 | 1967 | Virudhunagar | 7,5 | 47 | 51 | 41,50 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | 29 | AGM | Rutherford, S | 1322KKI2024 | 1825 | Kanyakumari | 7,5 | 47 | 49,5 | 39,25 | 0 | 7 | |
| 10 | 67 | Jack, Samuel | U17 | 4349DGL2024 | 1694 | Dindigul | 7,5 | 46,5 | 50,5 | 41,50 | 0 | 6 | |
| 11 | 9 | Dinesh, Rajan M | 6865SIV2024 | 1967 | Sivagangai | 7 | 52,5 | 57 | 41,50 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 12 | 16 | Vijay, Shreeram P | 2888CHE2024 | 1901 | Chennai | 7 | 52 | 56,5 | 42,00 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 13 | 23 | Nandha, Kumar K | 26404CBE2024 | 1860 | Coimbatore | 7 | 52 | 56 | 41,75 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 14 | 6 | FM | Maheswaran, P. | 9269VNR2024 | 1996 | Virudhunagar | 7 | 51,5 | 56 | 42,00 | 0 | 6 | |
| 15 | 5 | Hiren, K G | 2739CHE2024 | 2013 | Chennai | 7 | 51,5 | 56 | 41,75 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 16 | 33 | Tarun, V | 26301SLM2024 | 1807 | Salem | 7 | 51 | 55 | 40,00 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 17 | 19 | Nigash, G | U17 | 4416ERO2024 | 1890 | Erode | 7 | 50,5 | 55 | 41,00 | 0 | 6 | |
| 18 | 21 | Gokul, Krishna S | U17 | 7618TPR2024 | 1881 | Tiruppur | 7 | 50 | 54,5 | 39,50 | 0 | 7 | |
| 19 | 4 | Ram, S. Krishnan | 5537CHE2024 | 2029 | Chennai | 7 | 49,5 | 54,5 | 41,50 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 20 | 54 | Kanishkaraj, V | U17 | 24553CHE2024 | 1725 | Chennai | 7 | 49 | 52 | 38,25 | 0 | 6 | |
| 21 | 72 | Nafila, A | U17 | 6375NIL2024 | 1688 | Nilgiris | 7 | 46 | 48 | 34,50 | 0 | 7 | |
| 22 | 68 | Aswin, D | U17 | 8887TRY2024 | 1693 | Tiruchirapalli | 7 | 45 | 49 | 35,50 | 0 | 7 | |
| 23 | 115 | AGM | Kannan, R. | 4818CBE2024 | 1605 | Coimbatore | 7 | 43 | 46,5 | 35,50 | 0 | 7 | |
| 24 | 18 | Yashwant, B | U17 | 5556MDU2024 | 1895 | Madurai | 6,5 | 51 | 55,5 | 36,75 | 0 | 6 | |
| 25 | 20 | CM | Ebenezer, Joseph | 3739CHE2024 | 1882 | Chennai | 6,5 | 50 | 53 | 35,00 | 0 | 6 |
Links
Hindusthan College of Arts and Science
About the Author
Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of Titles Commission in All India Chess Federation, Vice President of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International and National Championships.
The report was edited by Shahid Ahmed
