26th Tamil Nadu State Team Chess Championship 2018 was jointly organized by Ananthi Chess Academy and Golden Knights Chess Academy on behalf of Madurai District Chess Association and Tamil Nadu State Chess Association from 21st to 24th June 2018 at PTR college of Engineering and Technology, Satellite town, AIIMS Road, Madurai.
Shri. Pradip Kumar IPS, DIG of Police, Madurai was the chief guest and inaugurated the tournament by making the formal first move in the august presence of Dr. P. Thanavelan, Chairman, PTR Group of Institutions, Dr. Thrayaesh Kumar, Principal of PTR College of Engg. & Tech, Prof R Anantharam, Vice President, TNSCA, Mr. Abdul S Nazer, joint Secretary, TNSCA, IA Ganesh Babu S, Secretary, GKCA and Mr. P Pragadesh, Secreatry, ACA. Shri. Pradip Kumar emphasised the importance of chess, especially to children.
A total of eighty two teams comprising three hundred and seventy players from various districts are participated in this four day event. Out of which 37 teams are from Madurai District. The host Golden Knights Chess Academy heads the seeding list of the teams. The team consists of former national Blitz champion Ram S Krishnan, International Arbiter S. Ganesh Babu, former under 17 state champion SS Manigandan, former under 25 state champion M Dusthageer Ibrahim and P Uma Maheswaran. The second seeded SSN College of Engineering, Kanchi district has the distinction of fielding the highest rated player of the tournament C Sai Vishwesh, who has a rating of 2293.
Golden Knights Chess Academy – A Team consistently dominated the show from the beginning and won the championship with overall match point of 13, only the last round ended with a draw against Master Mind Chess Academy A, Kanchi. Runner Up goes to Master Mind Chess Acadmey A, lead by Manu David Sudanthram, Scored Overall Match Point of 12. Salem DCA team finished with 3rd place.
The tournament had a special moment, Prof R Anantharam, International Arbiter, Chairman, Arbiters’ Commission, AICF who was the Chief Arbiter for Many International events was always seen in the arbiter field, played in this tournament after 35 years.
Top ten ranking
| Rank | Team | Gam. | + | = | – | MP | Res. | Pts. | BH. | BH. |
| 1 | Golden Knights Chess Academy A | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 21½ | 116 | 129 |
| 2 | Master Mind Chess Academy A | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 22 | 110½ | 123 |
| 3 | Salem DCA A | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 20½ | 98 | 109½ |
| 4 | Kanyakumari MCA A | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 20 | 110½ | 120½ |
| 5 | SSN College, Kanchi | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 22 | 115½ | 129 |
| 6 | Viyugam Chess Academy A | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 20½ | 96½ | 108½ |
| 7 | Thoothukudi DCA | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 101½ | 114½ |
| 8 | Chennai DCA | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 92 | 103½ |
| 9 | Ananthi Chess Academy A | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 19½ | 107½ | 120 |
| 10 | Virudhunagar District | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 19½ | 97½ | 108½ |
Board Prizes winner :
| Board 1 | |||||||
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts. | Games | Rank |
| 1 | Vaisnav M | 1989 | TCE A | 100 | 7 | 7 | 36 |
| Board 2 | |||||||
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts. | Games | Rank |
| 1 | Avinash Ramesh | 1818 | Velammal Newgen Park A, Tiruvallur | 100 | 7 | 7 | 15 |
| Board 3 | |||||||
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts. | Games | Rank |
| 1 | SaiVishwesh.C | 2293 | SSN College, Kanchi | 92.9 | 6½ | 7 | 5 |
| Board 4 | |||||||
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts. | Games | Rank |
| 1 | Vignesh B | 1737 | Master Mind Chess Academy A | 92.9 | 6½ | 7 | 2 |
| Board 5 | |||||||
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Team | % | Pts. | Games | Rank |
| 1 | Arunkumar Mutthukumar | 1482 | Chennai DCA | 100 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
In Prize distribution function, Dr. P. Thanavelan, Chairman, B.E., MBA., PTR Groups of Institutions, Prof. R. Anantharaman, Vice President, TNSCA, Mr. B.T. Sethuraman, Madurai District Secretary presided over the function and gave away the prizes and Trophies to the winners. P. Pragadesh, Secretary, ACA welcomed the gathering and S Ganesh Babu, Secretary GKCA delivered the vote of thanks.
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