Laxman R R wins 1st Vellore Rapid Rating Open 2021
Top seed of the tournament, GM Laxman R R of Integral Coach Factory, scored an unbeaten 8.0/9 along with IM Srihari L R at 1st Vellore Rapid Rating Open. Laxman won the tournament due to better tie-break score, Srihari secured second position. Five players - WIM Michelle Catherina, IM Praveen Kumar, CM Daakshin Arun, Sachin Sangamesh R and Dhanasekar M scored 7.5/9 each, They were placed third to seventh according to tie-breaks. The tournament had the total prize fund of ₹100000 with the first prize being ₹15000 cash and a trophy. This is Laxman's third consecutive tournament in 2021 which makes it a hat-trick of tournament wins for him. Photo: IA Soundaramurthy D
IM Srihari L R scores an identical 8.0/9, Michelle Catherina third
One of the newly minted IM from Tamil Nadu, Srihari L R also remained undefeated. He drew with the eventual champion, GM Laxman R R in the final round to finish second on tie-breaks. WIM Michelle Catherina also made a great start, 5.0/5. Her only loss was against the eventual runner-up, IM Srihari in the sixth round. She scored an impressive 7.5/9 and broke out a pack of five players at the same score to claim the final podium place, third. Srihari earned ₹12000 and Michelle received ₹10000 cash as their second and third prize respectively. 12-year-old Daakshin Arun 7.5/9, was the youngest finisher among top 15 as he secured fifth place.
L to R: Mr. T Selvarajan, Vice President, Raya Vellore District Chess Association, IA Soundaramurthy D, Chief Arbiter, Mr. P Manoharan, Secretary Raya Vellore District Chess Association, Mr. S Manikandaswamy, Tournament Director, Mr. V Ravichandran, FT & IA and GM Laxman.
Mr. Manikanda Swamy, Tournament Director and Vice President, TNSCA and GM R.R.Laxman inaugurated the tournament in presence of Mr. S Cholavandan, Arcot Chess Academy, Mr. T Selvarajan, Vice President, Raya Vellore District Chess Association, Mr. P Manoharan, Secretary, Raya Vellore District Chess Association and IA Soundaramurthy D, Chief Arbiter.
L to R: Mr. S Cholavandan, Arcot Chess Academy, Mr. T.Selvarajan, Vice President, Raya Vellore District Chess Association, Mr. S Manikandaswamy, Tournament Director, Mr. V Ravichandran, FT & IA, GM Laxman, Mr. P Manoharan, Secretary, Raya Vellore District Chess Association, IA Soundaramurthy D, Chief Arbiter.
The tournament was organized by Star Chess Academy and Arcot Chess Academy on 25th and 26th December 2021 at D K M Kalyana Mandapam, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. A total of 294 players including a GM, an IM and a WIM took part in this nine-round Swiss league Rapid event which had a time control of 25 minutes + 5 seconds increment from move no.1.
Final Standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | 1 | GM | Laxman R.R. | IND | 2356 | Icf | 8,0 | 56,0 | 61,0 | 53,50 | ||
| 2 | 6 | FM | Srihari L R | U16 | IND | 1944 | Tn Chengalpattu | 8,0 | 54,0 | 58,5 | 50,75 | |
| 3 | 3 | WIM | Michelle Catherina P | w | IND | 2013 | Tn Chennai | 7,5 | 54,0 | 58,5 | 47,00 | |
| 4 | 2 | IM | Praveen Kumar C | IND | 2198 | Icf | 7,5 | 53,0 | 57,0 | 45,00 | ||
| 5 | 17 | CM | Daakshin Arun | U12 | IND | 1461 | Tn Chennai | 7,5 | 50,0 | 52,0 | 41,75 | |
| 6 | 34 | Sachin Sangamesh R | IND | 1280 | Tn Vellore | 7,5 | 48,5 | 51,0 | 40,75 | |||
| 7 | 33 | Dhanasekar M | IND | 1281 | Tn Vellore | 7,5 | 48,0 | 52,5 | 42,00 | |||
| 8 | 5 | Hirthickkesh Pr | IND | 1966 | Tn Cuddalore | 7,0 | 51,0 | 54,0 | 39,25 | |||
| 9 | 256 | Sridhar Prasath K | IND | 0 | Tn Vellore | 7,0 | 51,0 | 53,0 | 39,00 | |||
| 10 | 7 | Thiyagarajan Tamilselvi | IND | 1821 | Tn Thanjavur | 7,0 | 49,5 | 54,5 | 40,25 | |||
| 11 | 28 | Adharsh D P | U16 | IND | 1299 | Tn Tiruvallur | 7,0 | 48,0 | 51,5 | 37,00 | ||
| 12 | 4 | Sridhar C S | S55 | IND | 1998 | Tn Kanchipuram | 7,0 | 47,0 | 51,5 | 38,00 | ||
| 13 | 248 | Sharan Gopalan R | U14 | IND | 0 | Tn Kanchipuram | 7,0 | 46,5 | 51,0 | 38,50 | ||
| 14 | 14 | Gandhi Durai E | IND | 1538 | Tn Chennai | 7,0 | 45,5 | 49,5 | 35,50 | |||
| 15 | 196 | Nikiilesh A U | U14 | IND | 0 | Tn Coimbatore | 7,0 | 45,0 | 48,0 | 35,00 | ||
| 16 | 8 | Raghul Saro S | IND | 1717 | Tn Thanjavur | 7,0 | 44,5 | 48,0 | 33,50 | |||
| 17 | 172 | Logesh Kumar R | U12 | IND | 0 | Tn Chennai | 7,0 | 44,5 | 47,5 | 37,00 | ||
| 18 | 53 | Rahul S | IND | 1146 | Tn Cuddalore | 7,0 | 44,5 | 47,5 | 34,50 | |||
| 19 | 81 | Abdul Kalam | U16 | IND | 1019 | Tn Ranipet | 6,5 | 51,0 | 55,0 | 37,00 | ||
| 20 | 41 | Abhinav D P | U14 | IND | 1214 | Tn Tiruvallur | 6,5 | 51,0 | 54,0 | 36,25 |
