Vishnu wins Golden Jubilee of Sivakasi Chess Club, NPSS Rathina Nadar - Dr. N Mahalingam Rating Open 2023

GM Vishnu Prasanna V scored 8/9 to win 50th year of Sivakasi Chess Club, NPSS Rathina Nadar Dr. N Mahalingam Rating Open 2023. Vishnu finished a half point ahead of the field. Thus, no tie-breaks were required. Despite losing the second round game, Vishnu bounced back by winning the next seven games in a row. Four players - IM Nitin S, IM Ratnakaran K, Selvamurugan B and Surendran N scored 7.5/9 each. They were placed second to fifth respectively. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹1000000. The top three prizes were ₹120000, ₹80000 and ₹65000 along with a trophy each. This is only fourth tournament Vishnu played this year. His last tournament triumph was exactly a year and a day ago at Olympiad Curtain Raiser Rapid Rating Open 2023.

Vishnu wins a tournament after a year and a day later
Grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, the coach of India no. 2 D. Gukesh ended a long drought of winning a FIDE rated tournament at the 50th year of Sivakasi Chess Club NPSS Rathina Nadar – Dr. N. Mahalingam chess tournament with prize money of ten lacs rupees.

Vishnu Prasanna, as the champion, received one lakh and twenty thousand rupees. The tournament was held at Sivakasi from 21st to 25th July 2023. 266 players from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana participated in the nine rounds event.

Irrespective of the final round loss to Vishnu, International Master S Nitin of Railways secured the runner-up spot. Nitin scored 7.5 points from nine games. Nitin received a prize of ₹80000.

IM Ratnakaran K of Railways did a Houdini act, capitalizing a blunder by S Rohith of TN to win the game from a total losing position and the third place went to him. The win helped him to get a cash prize of ₹65000.

Dr. M. Manickam, A P Selvarajan and A Tenzing, industrialists and big supporters of chess are adjacent to the winners.

Grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, the head coach of Hatsun Chess Academy, Sivakasi did not disappoint his local students and scored eight points and the only loss came against his own student I Kirpesh at the Hatsun CA. in the second round. Kirpesh is also a member of the host Sivakasi Chess Club.