Kottayam Chess Academy invites you to God's Own Country's 1st GM Open 2025
Kottayam Chess Academy presents God's Own Country's 1st Grandmaster International Open Chess Tournament 2025. It will take place from 30th April to 7th May. Total prize fund is ₹2000000 in Category A. The top three prizes are ₹300000, ₹200000 and ₹150000. That's not all there is a Category B event too for players rated below 1650. The total prize fund in that is ₹1000000. The top three prizes are ₹100000, ₹75000 and ₹50000. So far 15 GMs, 7 IMs and a WIM have registered from over a dozen countries across the world. The top three seeds in Category A are - GM Karen H Grigoryan (ARM), GM Manuel Petrosyan (ARM) and GM Levan Pantsulaia (GEO). Register now if you haven't yet. Photo: Tournament circular
A chance to visit God's Own Country
The prestigious KCA GM Chess Tournament, also known as "God's Own Country's 1st GM International Open," is organized by the Kottayam Chess Academy (KCA) and it is scheduled to take place in Kottayam, Kerala, from April 30th to May 7th, 2025. This tournament promises to be a significant milestone in the Indian chess scene, as about 23 foreign players including 13 Grandmasters and six International Masters from abroad have already confirmed their participation.
It is expected to attract around 300 players, including Grandmasters, making it a highly competitive and exciting tournament. This tournament not only highlights Kerala's growing prominence in the chess world but also showcases the state's commitment to promoting the sport. With its picturesque backdrop and rich cultural heritage, Kerala, often referred to as "God's Own Country," provides a unique and inspiring setting for this international chess festival.
Of late, Kerala has made a big stride in the field of chess. The grandmaster trio G N Gopal, S L Narayanan and Nihal Sarin have made a big impact on the Kerala’s younger generation and the state is bound to produce more grandmasters in the near future.
KCA GM Chess tournament will be a boost to many Kerala youngsters like IM Jubin Jimmy and Goutham Krishna to step up their hunt for the coveted GM title.
The tournament has two categories, the major A category event, carrying a prize money of 20 lacs rupees will be held at The Courtyard Banquet hall, Kanjikuzhy, Kottayam, from 30th April to 7th May.
The event will feature a standard time control format, with 90 minutes and a 30-second increment from the first move.
Karen H Grigoryan from Armenia, having a rating of 2556 is the top seed of the tournament and he is a former Armenian champion. Besides European Under 16 title, he has many international titles in his kitty.
The second seed of the tournament is GM Manuel Petrosyan also hails from Armenia. A winner of the World Under-18 Championship in 2016 and runner-up in the World Junior 2017, Petrosyan has also won the Armenian Championship in 2022.
The third seed GM Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia is a regular visitor to India and has represented Georgia in many Olympiads.
Twice National champion Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan is familiar to Indian GM tournament circuit for many years. He won both Pune and Lucknow tournaments in 2004.
The Category-B caters to the need of players below 1650 rating offering 10 lacs rupees as the prize money and will be held from 1st to 3rd May.
Why wait anymore? Register yourself. If you stay one or two more days after the tournament, you can enjoy the scenic beauty of Kerala.
Kottayam Chess Academy provides high quality instruction and professionally organize competitions for young chess players of all skill levels. Starting from basics, they train and help beginners get an in-depth knowledge of the game and also identify upcoming players and mould them into world-class professionals. Founded by Rajesh Nattakom a chess lover & secretary- chess association Kottayam, the academy offers a wide range of activities for school children.
KCA has produced many talented players, including state champions in age categories and the shining example is fourteen year old FM Jake Shanty, who has a current rating of 2332.
The world recognizes the backwaters in Kerala as one amongst the most amazing natural phenomena. You may stay, dine, dance and of course play chess.
Kerala's landscape is adorned by a plethora of beaches. Both calm and rough seas are a beauty to watch.
Journey through the Kerala sanctuaries is incredible and you are likely to spot a herd of elephants, monkeys, deer and even tiger.
Players list
| No. | Name | ID | FideID | FED | RtgI | sex | Typ | Gr | Club/City | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Grigoryan, Karen H. | 0 | 13301004 | ARM | 2556 | Armenia | |||
| 2 | GM | Petrosyan, Manuel | 0 | 13300857 | ARM | 2544 | Armenia | |||
| 3 | GM | Pantsulaia, Levan | 0 | 13602071 | GEO | 2532 | Georgia | |||
| 4 | IM | Goutham, Krishna H | 592102021 | 25983504 | IND | 2449 | Kerala | |||
| 5 | GM | Sanikidze, Tornike | 0 | 13602608 | GEO | 2448 | Georgia | |||
| 6 | GM | Movsziszian, Karen | 0 | 13301152 | ARM | 2417 | Armenia | |||
| 7 | FM | Nguyen, Quoc Hy | 0 | 12410853 | VIE | 2404 | Vietnam | |||
| 8 | GM | Deepan, Chakkravarthy J. | 0 | 5011132 | IND | 2394 | ||||
| 9 | GM | Nguyen, Duc Hoa | 0 | 12401358 | VIE | 2372 | Vietnam | |||
| 10 | GM | Nguyen, Van Huy | 0 | 12401064 | VIE | 2363 | Vietnam | |||
| 11 | IM | Tologon Tegin, Semetei | 0 | 13800574 | KGZ | 2358 | Kyrgyzstan | |||
| 12 | GM | Dzhumaev, Marat | 0 | 14200236 | UZB | 2352 | Uzbekistan | |||
| 13 | FM | Sanz Wawer, Daniel | 0 | 1185543 | ESP | 2316 | Spain | |||
| 14 | GM | Karthikeyan, P. | 0 | 5018226 | IND | 2312 | ||||
| 15 | GM | Podolchenko, Evgeniy | 0 | 13504134 | BLR | 2307 | Belarus | |||
| 16 | GM | Laxman, R.R. | 869792021 | 5005361 | IND | 2291 | ||||
| 17 | GM | Manik, Mikulas | 0 | 14900734 | SVK | 2273 | Slovakia | |||
| 18 | GM | Teterev, Vitaly | 0 | 13501429 | BLR | 2266 | Belarus | |||
| 19 | Nithin, Babu | 26602021 | 46615431 | IND | 2242 | Kerala | ||||
| 20 | Arnav, Agrawal | 1415322022 | 48779857 | IND | 2194 | Uttar Pradesh |
About the Author
Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of Titles Commission in All India Chess Federation, Vice President of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International and National Championships. Nominated as one of the top seven arbiters in the world for the past hundred years by FIDE.
The article was edited by Shahid Ahmed
