4th Tamil Nadu IM Norm Closed Circuit Chess Tournament – Kodaikanal
WGM PV Nandhidhaa of Tamil Nadu, Asian Chess Champion 2022 won the 4th Tamil Nadu IM Norm Closed Circuit Tournament with 6.5 points out of 9 rounds. 4th edition of the IM Norm tournament was organised by Tamil Nadu State Chess Association at Poppys Hotel, Kodaikanal from 6th to 11th November 2023. There were 7 titled players. Players from 4 different federations (Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and USA) other than home federation participated in this event.
Master L Srihari of Pondicherry finished runner up with same 6.5 points, due to lesser tie breaks. IM David Gochelashvil of Russia, one of the foreign players stood third with 5.5 points. By this win, Nandhidhaa completed her IM norm.
Nandhidhaa sacrificed a rook for a knight against B Sekar on 13th move from the white side of Sicilian defense. She tried to catch the Black’s King in the center but her opponent found the right defense and the game ended by repetition in 20 moves.
The runner up Srihari played against Shubh Jayesh, Laddha of USA and had to be content with a draw, despite an extra pawn in possession. Though both players played aggressively, the resultant rook and bishop ending offered lesser chances for either to win. The game ended in 48 moves.
The King’s Indian defence played by Sumer Arsh, Shaik of Andhra Pradesh and Asylbek, Abdyzhapar of Kyrgyzstan ended in a draw when Sumer’s queen gave checks without a break.
Top seeded GM Evgeniy, Podolchenko of Belarus beat IM David, Gochelashvili of Russia from the white side. Evgeniy won a pawn on the 27th move and few inaccurate movies by David, allowed the Belarus GM to win a crucial point.
Prize distribution ceremony was presided by Shri. Stephen Balasamy P General Secretary, TNSCA. The chief guest was Shri. D V Sundar and guest of honour was Mr. Pragadesh, Joint Secretary.
Srihari of Pondicherry is the runner up
| Final Standings after Round 9 | ||||
| Rk. | Title | Name | Pts. | |
| 1 | WGM | P V, Nandhidhaa | IND | 6.5 |
| 2 | L, Srihari | IND | 6.5 | |
| 3 | IM | David, Gochelashvili | RUS | 5.5 |
| 4 | CM | Evgeniy, Podolchenko | BLR | 5 |
| 5 | IM | Asylbek, Abdyzhapar | KGZ | 5 |
| 6 | GM | Sumer Arsh, Shaik | IND | 4.5 |
| 7 | FM | ShubhJayesh, Laddha | USA | 4.5 |
| 8 | FM | YashJayesh, Laddha | USA | 3.5 |
| 9 | B, Sekar | IND | 3.5 | |
| 10 | FM | J J, Nawin | IND | 0.5 |