Usually when International events are held in India, more often than not we see the foreign grandmasters coming out on top and taking home the first prize. However, this trend is changing, and in the last two events we have seen two Indians coming out on top.

GM Srinath Narayanan showed his prowess at the Kolkata GM Open 2018 | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

A performance of 2737!

At the KIIT International GM 2018 it was Karthik Venkatraman who bamboozled everyone with his sizzling play and finished on top with 9.0/10 | Photo: KIITKISS Sports

A rating performance of 2740!

And now we come to the city of dreams! The Mumbai Mayor's Cup 2018

The players' list is very interesting. We have a Ukrainian at the top Martyn Kravtsiv with a rating of 2662, followed by Mikheil Mchedlishvili from Georgia and Farrukh Amonatov. You have the two youngsters from Russia and Ukraine - Ivan Rozum and Adam Tukhaev, while the new faces this year are Karen Grigoryan, Kirill Stupak, Mikhail Mozharov. Indian challenge is being led by Sandipan Chanda, while Deepan Chakkravarthy will like to follow up on his runner's up performance at Kolkata GM Open. Can Karthik Venkatraman make another GM norm? Can Arjun Erigaisi prove himself once again? And can P. Karthikeyan makes his final GM norm and become a grandmaster - long awaited! The 11th edition of Mumbai Mayor's Cup promises to be an exciting event.

Starting rank - all players above 2400

No. NameIDFideIDFEDRtgsexTypClub/City
1
GMKravtsiv Martyn014113147UKR2662
2
GMMchedlishvili Mikheil013600966GEO2608
3
GMAmonatov Farrukh014700077TJK2605
4
GMRozum Ivan024104272RUS2581
5
GMGrigoryan Karen H.013301004ARM2571
6
GMSandipan Chanda05004225IND2571
7
GMPaichadze Luka013602934GEO2564
8
GMStupak Kirill013503758BLR2564
9
GMMozharov Mikhail04189825RUS2558
10
GMTukhaev Adam014109476UKR2557
11
GMGhosh Diptayan05045207IND2536
12
GMDeepan Chakkravarthy J.05011132IND2531
13
GMBurmakin Vladimir04105109RUS2528
14
GMPruijssers Roeland01013068NED2514
15
GMTran Tuan Minh012401820VIE2514
16
FMErigaisi Arjun035009192IND2505
17
GMRahman Ziaur010200037BAN2498
18
GMNeverov Valeriy014100150UKR2492
19
FMKarthik Venkataraman025006479IND2475
20
IMHarsha Bharathakoti05078776IND2471
21
IMVisakh N R025012223IND2467
22
IMKarthikeyan P.05018226IND2456
23
IMNguyen Van Huy012401064VIE2451
24
GMNeelotpal Das05003512IND2447
25
IMKhusenkhojaev Muhammad014700247TJK2445
26
GMDzhumaev Marat014200236UZB2434
27
IMViani Antonio Dcunha05027330IND2424

Complete players' list

The Mumbai festival is split into three events - A,B and C and the total prize fund is Rs.35,00,000

The event has strong backing from Mount Litera school and LIC

The first place takes home a prize of Rs. 3,30,000!

B-category will conclude in four days and has the first prize of Rs.1,20,000

A very surprising part of the event is that the C-group has a higher first prize than B-group!

GM Hoa Nguyen won the title back in 2017. Who is going to win the 11th Mayor's Cup? Do write down your guesses in the comments section. Last date to submit your answer is 3rd June 2018. The right answer will receive three months of ChessBase Premium Account!
Tournament director Ravindra Dongre speaks about the Mayor's Cup 2017
The atmosphere at the Mumbai Mayors' Cup 2017

Articles from previous editions:

Hoa Nguyen wins Mayor's Cup 2017

Four leaders at the Mayor's Cup 2017

Visakh wins Mayor's Cup 2016