Manigandan triumphs at 31st CUSAT Rating Open Chess Tournament 2022

by Shahid Ahmed - 26/06/2022

Starting out as the top seed, Manigandan S S scored an unbeaten 7.5/8. He finished a half point ahead of the field to win 31st CUSAT Rating Open 2022. Four players scored 7/8 each. They are - Arpith S Bijoy, Goutham Krishna H, Mithun Anand V and Abdallah M Nistar. 13-year-old Arpith and the reigning National Under-12 Open champion, Goutham were placed second and third respectively according to tie-breaks. Total prize fund of the tournament was ₹300000. Top three prizes were ₹30000, ₹25000 and ₹20000 along with a trophy each. The tournament was held between 26th and 29th May 2022 at CUSAT Campus. Photo: IA T Vinoth Kumar

Kerala kids dominate the podium

Two out of the top three places were claimed by strong kids from the home state, Kerala. While 13-year-old Arpith secured second place, 11-year-old Goutham was placed third according to the tie-breaks. Another teenager, 13-year-old Aswath S scored 6.5/8 to make a top 10 finish at seventh place. Kerala's very own Anilkumar O T was the sole veteran (Above 50) to make it in the top 10. He scored 6.5/8 to finish sixth. The tournament returned after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19 pandemic. The previous edition was won by Ilamparthi A R in 2019.

Champion - Manigandan S S 7.5/8 | Photo: IA T Vinoth Kumar

Manigandan S S scored an unbeaten 7.5/8 and gained 5 Elo rating points

Runner-up - Arpith S Bijoy 7/8 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Second Runner-up - Goutham Krishna H 7/8 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Dr. K N Madhusoodanan, Vice-Chancellor, CUSAT inaugurated the event | Photo: IA T Vinoth Kumar

A total of 446 players took part in this four-day Classical Rating tournament. The event was organized by Department of Physical Education, CUSAT and CUSAT Chess Club at CUSAT Campus, Kochi, Kerala from 26th to 29th May 2022. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo	Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5
1	1	Manigandan S S				IND	2122	TN	7,5	39,5	44,0	40,50	0,0	7
2	18	Arpith S Bijoy	U15			IND	1713	KER	7,0	41,0	45,5	38,50	0,0	6
3	19	Goutham Krishna H	U15			IND	1709	Ker	7,0	40,5	44,5	38,00	0,0	6
4	25	Mithun Anand V				IND	1672	TN	7,0	36,0	39,0	31,50	0,0	7
5	28	Abdallah M Nisthar				IND	1653	KER	7,0	35,5	38,5	33,50	0,0	6
6	5	Anilkumar O.T.	S50			IND	1996	KER	6,5	41,0	45,0	34,50	0,0	6
7	22	Aswath S	U15			IND	1694	TN	6,5	39,5	43,5	32,75	0,0	6
8	100	Nishanth Dsouza				IND	1283	KAR	6,5	39,0	42,5	33,00	0,0	6
9	7	Dinesh Kumar Jaganathan				IND	1974	Tn	6,5	38,5	43,0	33,75	0,0	6
10	46	Vivek Vinod				IND	1506	Ker	6,5	38,5	41,5	32,25	0,0	6
11	11	Sanjay S Pillai				IND	1780	Ker	6,5	38,5	41,5	31,25	0,0	5
12	3	Sridhar J				IND	2090	Tn	6,5	37,0	40,5	28,75	0,0	6
13	71	Giridhar A	U15			IND	1381	KER	6,5	36,0	40,0	33,00	0,0	5
14	14	Dharmaraj P.				IND	1765	TN	6,5	36,0	38,5	30,00	0,0	5
15	31	Raveendran C.R.	S50			IND	1640	KER	6,5	35,5	39,0	30,00	0,0	6
16	27	Rajeev V M				IND	1659	KER	6,5	35,0	38,0	31,75	0,0	5
17	51	Aadithya Pradeep				IND	1477	Ker	6,5	33,0	35,5	28,25	0,0	6
18	34	Suhail Rasheed				IND	1604	KER	6,5	32,5	35,5	28,50	0,0	6
19	6	Marthandan K U				IND	1995	KER	6,0	42,0	44,5	30,00	0,0	6
20	10	Joy Lazar M.A.	S50			IND	1794	KER	6,0	41,5	46,0	30,75	0,0	5
21	4	Chandar Raju				IND	2012	Ker	6,0	41,5	45,0	31,00	0,0	5
22	2	Ram S. Krishnan				IND	2110	TN	6,0	39,5	43,5	30,00	0,0	5
23	9	Ajeesh Antony				IND	1807	KER	6,0	38,5	42,0	28,75	0,0	5
24	52	Jack Samuel	U15			IND	1477	TN	6,0	38,0	41,0	27,50	0,0	6
25	8	Dhanush Ragav N S				IND	1902	TN	6,0	38,0	41,0	27,00	0,0	5
26	15	Arul Anandh S P K				IND	1757	TN	6,0	37,5	41,5	29,00	0,0	6
27	45	Shirodkar Aayush				IND	1511	Goa	6,0	37,5	41,5	28,50	0,0	6
28	39	Adithya A Chullikkad	U15			IND	1560	KER	6,0	36,5	40,5	30,00	0,0	4
29	30	Krishna Karthik N				IND	1646	Tel	6,0	36,5	40,5	29,25	0,0	5
30	41	Raaghav Kabil M	U15			IND	1537	Tn	6,0	36,0	38,5	27,25	0,0	5