Shaastra Rapids: Chess amidst flora and fauna of a Tech. School!

Shaastra Rapids: Chess amidst flora and fauna of a Tech. School!

When the Vardha cyclone devastated Chennai in the third week of December, it not only wrecked Chennai but also hit the 1st Shaastra FIDE Rated Rapid Tournament, which was a part of the Shaastra college festival, organized by IIT, Madras. Two grandmasters, six international masters, and several fide masters vied for the Rs. Two lakhs prize money.

In the rapid tournaments, the classical ratings and titles often go for a toss. Would any of these titled players defy the trend and emerge victorious?

Untitled P. Saravana Krishnan of Karur Vysya Bank made a mockery of the titled players, by winning the tournament with an amazing all win record. To add to it, the runner-up Akash Pc Iyer, a former Under 18 Commonwealth Champion, is also an untitled player.

Youngsters had little respect for ratings or titles as many of them defeated or drew against much higher rated opponents. IM Praveen Kumar of ICF had to be content with a draw against S Alagappan of Tamil Nadu, rated 820 points below him, in the second round. Similarly, S. Jayakumaar of Chennai drew with IM S Nitin of Railways, who had 700 rating points more. Upcoming youngster K. Senthil Maran, also of Chennai, split the point with GM MR Venkatesh in the fifth round.

GM Vishnu Prasanna and Saravana Krishnan led the table jointly with 6 points each at the end of the sixth round, wherein Saravana quelled the challenge of IM TU Navin Kanna. Once he started the demolition work, Saravana Krishnan maintained the tempo outwitting GM Vishnu Prasanna and GM MR Venkatesh in the seventh and eighth rounds respectively. He finished the tournament in style by conquering the top seed IM Srinath Narayanan in the final round.

The tournament was held in a big centrally air-conditioned auditorium, sufficient to hold 600 to 700 players. A total cash prize of two lakhs rupees was offered, the winner getting Rs.30,000/-.

IIT Madras is one of the most prestigious institutions for higher education and research in India. It is situated in a forest like atmosphere made up of a variety of flora and fauna—deers, monkeys and other animals and birds.

Final Ranking

Prof. R. Anantharam is a councilor for Arbiters’ Commission, FIDE and the chairman of the Arbiters’ Commission, AICF. He is one of the best arbiters in the country.