The 14th Chennai Open International Grandmaster Open Chess tournament 2023 for Sakthi Group Dr N Mahalingam trophy was off to a good start with seeded players having a smooth sail in the first round at Hotel Ambassador Pallava, Chennai here today.
Inaugural function of 14th Chennai Open GM 2023
The 20 lakh prize money tournament was inaugurated by Hon’ble Mr Justice M Nirmal Kumar, High Court Madras in the presence of Arjuna Awardee International Master Manuel Aaron. Present in the dais were Shri D V Sundar, former Vice President, FIDE, Dr M Manickam, Chairman, Sakthi Group of Industries and Shri Stephen Balasamy, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association.
The symbolic first move inaugurating the tournament was made by nine times national champion Manuel Aaron against Chief Guest Hon’ble Mr Justice M Nirmal Kumar.
In a mild rating upset, lower rated Vivaan, Sardana (1471) from Maharashtra held International Master Buscara Sevan (2362) to a draw in a hard fought Giuoco Piano game. This 10 round tournament saw entries from 20 countries consisting of 8 Grandmasters and 43 titled players. The second round is scheduled at 10 AM tomorrow.
Round 1 results : (Indians unless specified) Ritesh, Maddukuri lost to Aronyak, Ghosh, Srihari, L R bt Shashveen, A K, Ratnapriya, K lost to Fedorov, Alexei (Belarus), Glek, Igor (Belgium) bt Pournami, S, Sanchith, Sundararam K lost to Ajay, Karthikeyan, Viani, Antonio D’cunha bt Rachishnu, Datta, Buscara, Sevan (France) drew with Vivaan, Sardana
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