Podolchenko triumphs at 32nd Tamil Nadu IM-norm RR 2025, Aakash G second and Siddhanth Poonja third
GM Evgeniy Podolchenko scored an unbeaten 7/9 to win 32nd Tamil Nadu IM-norm Round-Robin 2025. He finished a half point ahead of the rest. FM Aakash G and Siddhanth Poonja scored 6.5/9 each. They were placed second and third according to tie-breaks. Both of them scored an IM-norm each. For Aakash it was his final IM-norm and Siddhhanth it is maiden norm. Check out the report by the tournament coordinator, IA FI S Paul Arokia Raj along with annotated games of Siddhanth by the boy himself. Photos: IA FI S Paul Arokia Raj
Aakash earns his final IM-norm, Siddhanth scores his maiden norm
"How many norms?" is the curious question raised by anyone on the final day in a norm tournament. The answer one would get from Sakthi Group 32nd Tamil Nadu IM-norm tournament is two. Two out of five probable norm seekers is the biggest success of this event organized by the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association at Hotel Chennai Le Palace, Porur, Chennai from October 13th to 19th, 2025.
FM G Aakash received his final IM-norm from Mr. G Bhaskaran, international Volleyball player.
Siddhanth Poonja is a proud maiden IM-norm winner.
Mr. R Natarajan, I R S Deputy Commissioner of Customs and G S T and an ace sprinter inaugurated this week-long event in presence of Mr. P Stephen Balasamy, General Secretary, TNSCA, Mr. B Murugavel, Vice President, TNSCA and Mr. R Srinivasan. Treasurer, TNSCA. Mr. G Bhaskaran, Indian International in Volleyball felicitated the winners in a simple ceremony.
School boy from Coimbatore FM Aakash G with two IM norms already in his pocket, was in a hot pursuit for the third and final norm. He started off his campaign with great style and it looked as though he will accomplish the task without any hiccup. Incidentally, he met all foreign IMs in a row in the first four rounds - won three and drew with one. With 3.5/4, all that he needed was 3/5 from one foreign GM and the rest of four Indians to earn his final IM-norm.
Everything was a smooth sail for him as per calculation with a dream run of 5.5/6. However on the seventh round he met his Waterloo, when he messed up in the opening blundering away a piece just in 13 moves against FM Mrithyunjay Mahadevan from Chennai.
Needing one point from two rounds, Akash decided to settle for a short draw against the overnight leader GM Evgeniy in the eighth and the penultimate round to keep his norm as well as the tournament title chance alive. By that time the only untitled contender Siddhant Poonja made a steady progress scoring 6 out of 8 points, joined other two leaders Akash and Evgeniy. This school boy from Bengalaru was the only other unbeaten player. With one round to go, the championship issue was still wide open, with all the above three sitting pretty on the top with 6 points each. Interestingly, it was a clash between Akash and Siddhanth in the final round. Title or norm? That was the challenge thrown for them now. They preferred the second one which thought would be more appropriate in the long run of their chess career. They just split the point to reach 6.5 points and waited for the outcome of result of GM Evgeniy and IM Acosta encounter.
The only GM from this event, Evgeniy Podolchenko maintained an unbeaten track record, conceding four draws and winning five games from nine rounds in this ten-player round-robin event. In the final round, he carved out a neat victory over IM Otero Acosta Diasmany (CUB) in a theoretical won rook and pawn ending to notch up 7 points. He became richer with the winner’s purse of US$ 500. In a two-way tie for the runner-up slot G Akash relegated Siddhanth to the third spot via better Sonneborn-Berger score.
While Akash pocketed his third and final IM norm, all he needs is 28 points to reach the requisite 2400 rating. For Siddhant Poonja, a wild card entry in this tournament, will be a memorable trip down memory lane for him. He obtained his maiden IM-norm and also surprisingly he gained 122 points!!
Replay all games
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | GM | Podolchenko, Evgeniy | BLR | 2321 | 7 | 0 | 27,75 | 5 |
| 2 | 9 | FM | Aakash, G | IND | 2348 | 6,5 | 0 | 26,5 | 5 |
| 3 | 1 | Siddhanth, Poonja | IND | 2214 | 6,5 | 0 | 25,5 | 4 | |
| 4 | 4 | IM | Oblitas, Carlomagno | PER | 2379 | 4,5 | 0 | 19,75 | 1 |
| 5 | 7 | FM | Jinan, Jomon | IND | 2334 | 4 | 0 | 15,75 | 3 |
| 6 | 2 | IM | Palencia Morales, Wilson Guillermo | COL | 2206 | 4 | 0 | 15,5 | 1 |
| 7 | 6 | FM | Ashwin, Sairam | IND | 2307 | 3,5 | 0 | 12,25 | 2 |
| 8 | 5 | IM | Otero Acosta, Diasmany | CUB | 2326 | 3 | 1 | 10,5 | 1 |
| 9 | 3 | IM | Claverie, Raul | ARG | 2184 | 3 | 2 | 10,75 | 1 |
| 10 | 8 | FM | Mrithyunjay, Mahadevan | IND | 2285 | 3 | 3 | 15,75 | 1 |
About the Author
Paul Arokia Raj is a Grade-A International Arbiter. He is one of the most reputed arbiters of India. He has officiated many top events. He is a former National Sub-Junior champion and his career high rating was 2205. He was also the coach of University of Madras for nearly 20 years. Best among his products is GM Sundararajan Kidambi. He is now working as Assistant Traffic Manager in Chennai Port Authority and he was All India Major Ports Chess Champion for nearly 20 years.
The report was edited by Shahid Ahmed
