Sammed Shete dominates Shri Maheshwaranand Saraswati Memorial Rapid Rating Open 2023
IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete scored 8.5/9 and remained undefeated to win Shri Maheshwaranand Saraswati Memorial Rapid Rating Open 2023. He finished a half point ahead of the competition. FM Ritviz Parab and IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni scored 8/9 each. They were placed second and third according to tie-breaks. Both took a no-draw approach and suffered a loss each. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹160000. The top three prizes were ₹50000 + trophy, ₹25000 and ₹15000 each respectively. This was Sammed's third consecutive Rapid tournament triumph, first rating event victory of the year. Photo: Prakash Kunte
Sammed's first rating tournament triumph of 2023
The last rating tournament IM Sammed Shete won was in April 2022. However, he is off to a great start in 2023 as he has already won three consecutive tournaments he took part in. Two of them were non-rated events, the third one is this event where Sammed scored eight consecutive victories and gained full point lead heading into the final round. He drew his final round game against IM Ameya Audi to become a clear champion. The champion defeated the eventual runner-up, FM Ritviz Parab in the seventh round. Buddhibal Kreeda Trust is organizing this event for more than a decade. The first rapid rating edition of this event was in 2012, the second one was last year, the third one being the recently concluded one in February 2023.
A total of 274 players including six IMs participated in this two-day nine-round Swiss league Rapid Rating tournament which was organized by Buddhibal Kreeda Trust, Pune on 18th to 19th February 2023 in Pune, Maharashtra. The time control for the event was 25 minutes + 5 seconds increment.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | Rp | |
| 1 | 4 | IM | Sammed Jaykumar, Shete | 2308 | 8,5 | 51,5 | 55,5 | 51,75 | 2356 |
| 2 | 7 | FM | Ritviz, Parab | 2248 | 8 | 52,5 | 57,5 | 49,50 | 2127 |
| 3 | 8 | IM | Kulkarni, Vikramaditya | 2242 | 8 | 46 | 50,5 | 45,50 | 1827 |
| 4 | 1 | IM | Krishnater, Kushager | 2310 | 7,5 | 52 | 56,5 | 45,25 | 2065 |
| 5 | 3 | IM | Audi, Ameya | 2309 | 7,5 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 43,50 | 1892 |
| 6 | 17 | Dere, Pushkar | 2014 | 7,5 | 49 | 54 | 44,00 | 1731 | |
| 7 | 6 | FM | Wagh, Suyog | 2251 | 7 | 52,5 | 57,5 | 42,50 | 1930 |
| 8 | 15 | Gaurav, Rajesh Zagade | 2082 | 7 | 52,5 | 56,5 | 42,00 | 1757 | |
| 9 | 11 | FM | Dixit, Nikhil | 2206 | 7 | 51 | 55 | 39,50 | 1879 |
| 10 | 12 | FM | Bhambure, Shantanu | 2197 | 7 | 50,5 | 54,5 | 39,00 | 1852 |
| 11 | 14 | Aakash Sharadchandra, Dalvi | 2183 | 7 | 49,5 | 54,5 | 40,50 | 1759 | |
| 12 | 21 | Tamhankar, Siddhant | 1766 | 7 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 38,50 | 1816 | |
| 13 | 5 | IM | Abhishek, Kelkar | 2256 | 7 | 49 | 52,5 | 39,00 | 1805 |
| 14 | 18 | Phatak, Aanjaneya | 2002 | 7 | 48 | 52,5 | 38,50 | 1599 | |
| 15 | 58 | Patil, Harshal U | 1349 | 7 | 46,5 | 49,5 | 35,75 | 1698 |
