Ayush Sharma dominates 1st Scindia Cup Rapid Rating Open 2023

by Shahid Ahmed - 17/11/2023

Madhya Pradesh's very own, IM Ayush Sharma scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 1st Scindia Cup Rapid Rating Open 2023. He finished a half point ahead of the competition. Harish Sharma, CM Vaibhav Jayant Raut and Kamad Mishra scored 8/9 each. They were placed second to fourth respectively according to tie-breaks. Harish and Vaibhav remained undefeated. Vaibhav was the sole person to hold Ayush to a draw in the penultimate eighth round. The total prize fund for the tournament was ₹350000. The top three prizes were ₹40000, ₹25000 and ₹15000 along with a trophy each. This was Ayush's second tournament triumph of the year, first after becoming one of the latest International Master of India. Photos: Manas Mukhoti/The Scindia School

Ayush's second triumph of the year

IM Ayush Sharma had a sole lead heading into the final round. Nine players were trailing him by a half point at 7/8 each. Ayush defeated GM Laxman R R to become a clear champion. Harish Sharma and CM Vaibhav Jayant Raut won against Gopalakrishnan G and Sachi Jain respectively to secure second and third place respectively. 9-year-old Madhvendra Pratap Sharma scored an incredible unbeaten 7.5/9 to finish seventh and gained 95.6 Elo rating points in the process. He is the youngest finisher among the top ten.

Champion - IM Ayush Sharma 8.5/9

Runner-up - Harish Sharma 8/9

Second Runner-up - CM Vaibhav Jayant Raut 8/9

IM Ayush Sharma scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 and increased his Elo rating by 49.2 points

Madhya Pradesh's first IM - Akshat Khamparia delivers his speech

9-year-old Madhvendra Pratap Sharma drew against GM Laxman R R in the penultimate round, scored 7.5/9 to finish seventh

Players in action

GM Laxman R R with IM Akshat Khamparia at the Gwalior Fort

View from the Gwalior Fort

IM Akshat Khamparia shares - Scindia school is one of the best schools of India. It has a 500 acre campus Fort. The persons behind the success of the tournament - Mrs. Garima Garg and Mr. Rajesh Chhari, both are chess parents.

A total of 435 players including a GM and an IM took part from various places all over the country in this two-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament. It was organized by and at The Scindia School, Fort, Gwalior in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on 5th and 6th November 2023. The time control of the event was 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5
1	4	FM	Ayush, Sharma			IND	2120	MP	8,5	53,5	57	53,00	8
2	10		Sharma, Harish			IND	1837	DEL	8	51,5	55,5	48,50	7
3	3	CM	Vaibhav, Jayant Raut			IND	2157	MAH	8	51,5	54	46,00	7
4	17		Mishra, Kamad	U17		IND	1640	MP	8	49,5	52,5	47,00	8
5	7	FM	Garv, Gaur	U17		IND	1957	Har	7,5	57	61	48,75	7
6	2	FM	Aaryan, Varshney			IND	2216	DL	7,5	52	55	44,00	7
7	16		Madhvendra, Pratap Sharma	U11		IND	1653	MP	7,5	51	55	43,75	6
8	12		Yashpal, Arora			IND	1752	MP	7,5	49,5	51,5	41,25	7
9	6		Kant, Rupesh			IND	2020	MP-G	7,5	48,5	50,5	40,00	7
10	21		Vedant, Bhardwaj			IND	1616	MP	7,5	46	50	41,25	7
11	45		Ravi, Palsule			IND	1351	MP	7,5	43	47	39,00	7
12	1	GM	Laxman, R.R.			IND	2217	ICF	7	56	59	42,75	6
13	59		Sanyam, Srivastava	U13		IND	1280	UP	7	54,5	59,5	44,00	7
14	40		Borkhetariya, Devarsh M	U17		IND	1384	GUJ	7	54	58	42,75	6
15	9		Daksh, Goyal	U15		IND	1894	DEL	7	52,5	55	39,00	7
16	13		Sachi, Jain	F15	w	IND	1698	DL	7	50,5	53,5	38,50	7
17	23		Kavyansh, Agrawal	U17		IND	1567	MP-G	7	49,5	53	38,50	7
18	8	FM	Rathore, S.K.	S55		IND	1910	MP	7	49,5	51,5	37,50	7
19	18		Arnab, Kumar Mullick			IND	1636	TEL	7	49	53	38,50	7
20	19		Kanwal, Om Prakash			IND	1626	MP	7	48,5	52,5	37,50	7