Anirudhha Potawad dominates 3rd The Chembur Gymkhana Rapid Rating Open 2025

by Shahid Ahmed - 07/10/2025

FM Anirudhha Potawad scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 to win 3rd The Chembur Gymkhana Rapid Rating Open 2025. This is the third consecutive year he has won this tournament with the same score. In the last two triumphs including this, he finished a half point ahead of the rest. Five players - FM Vedant Nagarkatte, IM Srijit Paul, IM Aakash Sharadchandra Dalvi, FM Gaurang Bagwe and Arjun Thakur scored 8/9 each. They were placed second to sixth respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the tournament was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹20000 + trophy, ₹10000 and ₹8000 each. This is Anirudhha's sixth overall and fifth rating tournament triumph of the year. The tournament marked the return of our Cofounder and CEO, IM Sagar Shah to a rating tournament in over 7.5 years. Photo: Ravindra Potawad

Anirudhha wins all three editions of the event, Sagar plays his first rating tournament in over 7.5 years

FM Anirudhha Potawad was the sole leader 7.5/8, heading into the final round. 13 players were trailing him by a half point at 7/8 each including our very own Cofounder and CEO, IM Sagar Shah. Anirudhha defeated Sagar in the final round to become the champion. Pushkar Dere lost to FM Vedant Nagarkatte and the latter secured second place. IM Srijit Paul won against Arvind Iyer to finish third. Sagar played a couple of non-rated events in the past 7.5 years. However, rating tournaments are at a different level when it comes to competitiveness and seriousness. No one is here to show any mercy, especially when 485 players are taking part ₹20000 cash prize of the total prize fund ₹200000, and also valuable Elo rating points are on the line. This participation was a preparation event for Sagar before the USA vs India, exhibition match at eSports Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA. There is no better way to prepare for a tournament than by playing one. Sagar finished eleventh overall after the final round loss. Nevertheless, he knows how much the average strength has increased in the past years. We can only hope to see him play more tournaments in the near future. That will certainly bring more eyes to the tournament, inspire and motivate players, as well as elevate the entire chess universe in some form or the other.

Champion - FM Anirudhha Potawad 8.5/9 | Photo: Ravindra Potawad

Runner-up - FM Vedant Nagarkatte 8/9 | Photo: Ravindra Potawad

Second Runner-up - IM Srijit Paul 8/9 | Photo: Ravindra Potawad

FM Anirudhha Potawad en route his final round win over IM Sagar Shah | Photo: Kartik Krishnan

FM Anirudhha Potawad scored an unbeaten 8.5/9, finished a half point ahead of therest and gained 20.6 Elo rating points

Our Cofounder and CEO, IM Sagar Shah in action | Photo: Kartik Krishnan

Group photo of various prize winners | Photo: Ravindra Potawad

Players in action | Photo: Ravindra Potawad

Video Gallery

A total of 485 players including four IMs took part from all over the country, one from USA and Zambia. The one-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by and at The Chembur Gymkhana in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 21st September 2025. The time control of the event was 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move.

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	Gr	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB5	TB6
1	3	FM	Potawad, Anirudhha			PO7056_THAN_202	IND	2251	PO7056_THAN_2024	8,5	56,5	61,5	57,5	8	4
2	9	FM	Nagarkatte, Vedant			PO3552_MUMS_202	IND	2000	PO3552_MUMS_2023	8	57	61,5	53,5	7	4
3	2	IM	Srijit, Paul			West Bengal	IND	2291	West Bengal	8	54	59	51	8	3
4	4	IM	Aakash, Sharadchandra Dalvi			PO6790_THAN_202	IND	2181	PO6790_THAN_2024	8	53,5	57	49,5	7	3
5	8	FM	Bagwe, Gaurang			PO6695_MUMS_202	IND	2029	PO6695_MUMS_2024	8	52,5	56,5	48,3	7	2
6	49		Thakur, Arjun	U15		PO3179_MUMS_202	IND	1681	PO3179_MUMS_2023	8	47,5	50,5	42,5	8	3
7	5	IM	Kulkarni, Vikramaditya			PO465_THAN_2023	IND	2112	PO465_THAN_2023	7,5	52,5	57	44,8	7	4
8	22	AIM	Rudra, Kandpal	U15		PO1331_MUMC_202	IND	1812	PO872_MUMC_2023	7,5	48,5	53	42,8	7	4
9	12		Pruthu, Deshpande			PO15614_PUNE_20	IND	1940	PO15614_PUNE_2025	7,5	47	50,5	41,8	7	4
10	10	ACM	Iyer, Arvind			PO6365_THAN_202	IND	1999	PO6365_THAN_2024	7	56	61,5	46	7	3
11	1	IM	Sagar, Shah			PO15621_MUMB_20	IND	2307	PO15621_MUMB_2025	7	54,5	58	42,3	6	3
12	14		Gopal, Rathod			PO2615_THAN_202	IND	1928	PO2615_THAN_2023	7	53	58	43	7	3
13	6		Dere, Pushkar			PO6980_MUMS_202	IND	2108	PO6980_MUMS_2024	7	51	56	40,5	7	4
14	18		Somaiya, Shreyansh			PO426_MUMS_2023	IND	1883	PO426_MUMS_2023	7	51	55	38,5	7	4
15	48		Pasbola, Samvid	U13		PO997_MUMS_2023	IND	1695	PO997_MUMS_2023	7	50,5	54	40	7	4
16	17	CM	Bartakke, Amardeep S.			PO1218_THAN_202	IND	1889	PO1218_THAN_2023	7	50	54	38	7	3
17	15		Mishra, Sanjeev			PO445_MUMS_2023	IND	1926	PO445_MUMS_2023	7	49,5	53,5	38	7	4
18	11		Chandar, Raju			Kerala	IND	1988	Kerala	7	49,5	52	37	7	4
19	32		Aditya, Shardul Kadam	U13		PO1506_MUMS_202	IND	1756	PO1506_MUMS_2023	7	49	52,5	37,5	7	3
20	34		Om, Nilesh Deorukhakar			PO2223_PALG_202	IND	1747	PO2223_PALG_2023	7	49	52	37	7	4
21	35	WCM	Kriti, Mayur Patel		w	PO985_MUMC_2023	IND	1743	PO985_MUMC_2023	7	49	51	37	7	2
22	19		Umesh, M. Kulkarni			PO15562_SATA_20	IND	1866	PO15562_SATA_2025	7	48,5	53	39,5	6	4
23	7		Shah, Jeet			PO80_MUMS_2023	IND	2032	PO80_MUMS_2023	7	48	53	39	7	4
24	26		Chinmay, Kannan Iyer	U15		PO12500_THAN_20	IND	1785	PO12500_THAN_2023	7	46	51	39	7	4
25	225		Shreyas, Rajiv	U09		PO8728_MUMC_202	IND	1441	PO8728_MUMC_2024	7	46	50	37,5	7	3
26	30		Nadar, Thangraj			PO5870_THAN_202	IND	1758	PO5870_THAN_2023	7	45,5	48,5	36	7	4
27	60	AFM	Patil, Varad Sayaji	U11		PO1282_SANG_202	IND	1646	PO1282_SANG_2023	7	45,5	48,5	34,5	7	4
28	51		Pednekar, Balkrishna			PO13558_SIND_20	IND	1674	PO13558_SIND_2025	7	45	49,5	37,8	6	3
29	79		Kavish, Gharse			GOA	IND	1609	GOA	7	45	48,5	35,5	7	3
30	58		Girisha, Prasanna Pai	F09	w	PO54_MUMS_2023	IND	1656	PO54_MUMS_2023	7	44	46	33	6	2