Marthandan wins 32nd CUSAT Rating Open 2023
K U Marthandan and FM Srinivasa Rao M scored an unbeaten 7.5/8 at 32nd CUSAT Rating Open 2023. Marthandan won the tournament due to better tie-break score, Srinivasa was adjudged second. Six players - IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam, Akhilan E M, Madhusoodanan K R, Rahul V S, Parteev Sunil and Gowrishankar Jayaraj scored 7/8 each. They were placed third to eighth respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹300000. Top three prizes were ₹30000, ₹25000 and ₹20000 along with a trophy each. The tournament was held between 26th and 30th May 2023 at CUSAT Campus. This was Marthandan's fifth overall, first rating tournament triumph of the year. He went on to win two more tournaments after winning this. All photos are by Dr. Ajith Mohan unless stated otherwise.
Three veterans in top 10
K U Marthandan made a blazing start 7/7. He had a half point lead over the field. IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam and FM Srinivasa Rao M were the only two players trailing him by a half point at 6.5/7 each. Marthandan drew his final round game against Balasubramaniam. The top seed of the event, Srinivasa defeated Arul Anand S P K. Both Marthandan and Srinivasa finished with the same score 7.5/8 each. The tie-breaks decided the first two places. 103rd seeded Gowrishankar Jayaraj was the sole teenager to make a top ten finish. He scored 7/8 and was placed eighth. He gained the same amount of Elo rating points - 102.8, which was his seeding.
K U Marthandan received the trophy from Dr. Dipak Kumar Sahoo, Principal, School of Engineering CUSAT in presence of the Chief Arbiter, IA M Ephrame, Sandhya Krishnakumar, President, Ernakulam Chess Association, Chandar Raju, Secretary, Ernakulam Chess Association, A M Unni, General Convener, M S Ananthakrishnan, Dr. Mobi Thomas, Head of Department of Physical Education, SB College Changanassery, M Kannan, FA P S Ameer and Dr. Meera Prathapan, Asst. Professor S M S, CUSAT.
The tournament was inaugurated by Dr. P G Sankaran, Vice-Chancellor, CUSAT at CUSAT Seminar Complex auditorium by making a move against R Rajesh, Chief Guest and Joint Secretary, AICF in presence of Dr. Sasigopalan, Syndicate Member CUSAT and the Chairman Organizing Committee, Dr. K R Ajith Mohan, Organizing Secretary and Dy. Director of Physical Education CUSAT, A M Unni, General Convener, Dr. Remya Ramachandran, Vice President CUSAT Chess Club, IA M Ephrame, Chief Arbiter, and M S Ananthakrishnan, Secretary, CUSAT Chess Club.
The Organizing Committee is much obliged to M/s BPCL Kochi Refineries, State Bank of India CUSAT Campus Branch, M/s US Technologies Kochi, M/s Calphin Kochi, The Cochin University Employees Co-Operative Society and CUSAT Restaurant for extending co-sponsorships for this event.
Thanks to Dr. Ajith Mohan, Organizing Secretary, for sharing photos and information about the tournament.
A total of 452 players including an IM took part in this four-day eight round Swiss-league Rating tournament which was organized by Department of Physical Education CUSAT in association with CUSAT Chess Club at CUSAT Campus in Kochi, Kerala from 27th to 30th May 2023. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | |
| 1 | 3 | Marthandan, K U | IND | 1958 | KER - EKM | 7,5 | 42 | 46 | 43,50 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 2 | 1 | FM | Srinivasa Rao, M. | IND | 2111 | AP | 7,5 | 42 | 44,5 | 42,00 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 4 | IM | Ramnathan, Balasubramaniam | S50 | IND | 1929 | TN | 7 | 43 | 46,5 | 35,50 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4 | 5 | Akhilan, E M | IND | 1919 | KER | 7 | 40 | 44 | 38,50 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 5 | 25 | Madhusoodanan, K.R. | S50 | IND | 1619 | KER | 7 | 39,5 | 43,5 | 37,75 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 6 | 41 | Rahul, V S | IND | 1545 | KER | 7 | 37,5 | 41 | 35,00 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 7 | 38 | Parteev, Sunil | IND | 1563 | KER | 7 | 37 | 40,5 | 32,00 | 0 | 7 | |||
| 8 | 103 | Gowrishankar, Jayaraj | U15 | IND | 1320 | KER | 7 | 36,5 | 38,5 | 32,50 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 9 | 52 | Sreerag, Padman | IND | 1492 | KER | 6,5 | 39,5 | 43 | 32,75 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 10 | 23 | Abdul Majeed, N. | S60 | IND | 1628 | KER | 6,5 | 39 | 41,5 | 31,75 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 11 | 18 | Abdallah, M Nisthar | IND | 1659 | KER | 6,5 | 38,5 | 41,5 | 32,75 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 12 | 7 | Mithun, Anand V | IND | 1871 | TN | 6,5 | 37,5 | 41,5 | 33,75 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 13 | 22 | AIM | Aadik, Theophane Lenin | U15 | IND | 1629 | KER | 6,5 | 37,5 | 41,5 | 33,25 | 0 | 5 | |
| 14 | 19 | AIM | Yash, Abhijit Patil | U15 | IND | 1638 | KAR | 6,5 | 37,5 | 41,5 | 32,50 | 0 | 6 | |
| 15 | 11 | Dinesh, Kumar Jaganathan | IND | 1764 | TN | 6,5 | 37 | 41 | 31,75 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 16 | 2 | FM | Sreyas, Payyappat | U15 | IND | 2076 | KER | 6,5 | 36,5 | 41 | 32,50 | 0 | 6 | |
| 17 | 50 | Ebin, Benny | IND | 1495 | KER | 6 | 40,5 | 44 | 30,00 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 18 | 28 | Anupam, M Sreekumar | U15 | w | IND | 1615 | KER | 6 | 39,5 | 43,5 | 30,50 | 0 | 5 | |
| 19 | 6 | Arul, Anandh S P K | IND | 1908 | TN | 6 | 39,5 | 43,5 | 27,50 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 20 | 16 | Unas, K.A. | S50 | IND | 1675 | KER | 6 | 39 | 43 | 30,75 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 21 | 120 | Ryan, Dominic | U15 | IND | 1276 | KER | 6 | 39 | 42 | 27,50 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 22 | 40 | Pranav, Chandra Mohan | U15 | IND | 1546 | KER - EKM | 6 | 38,5 | 42 | 29,50 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 23 | 36 | Mohanan, U.C. | S60 | IND | 1572 | KER | 6 | 38,5 | 41,5 | 30,00 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 24 | 49 | Joseph, Tom | U15 | IND | 1496 | KER - EKM | 6 | 38 | 42 | 30,25 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 25 | 44 | AGM | Mani, Bharathy | IND | 1530 | TN | 6 | 37,5 | 41,5 | 29,75 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 26 | 118 | Rejath, Renjith | U15 | IND | 1283 | KER | 6 | 37,5 | 39,5 | 22,00 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 27 | 21 | Vigneshwaran, S | IND | 1635 | TN | 6 | 37 | 41,5 | 29,00 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 28 | 65 | Anurag, M S | U15 | IND | 1431 | KER | 6 | 37 | 41 | 29,25 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 29 | 66 | Safal, Fazil | IND | 1430 | KER | 6 | 37 | 40,5 | 24,50 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 30 | 95 | Prasath, K R | IND | 1338 | TN | 6 | 37 | 40 | 27,75 | 0 | 5 |
