Nithin Babu triumphs at 23rd RCC Classical Cup Rating Open 2025
Nithin Babu and Mandar Pradip Lad scored 8/9 each at 23rd RCC Classical Cup Rating Open 2025. Nithin Babu won the tournament on tie-breaks, despite losing the last round to the eventual runner-up, Mandar. Dinesh Kumar Jaganathan edged past six more players on tie-breaks to finish third scoring 7.5/9. The total cash prize fund of the tournament was ₹500000. The top three prizes were ₹50000, ₹35000 and ₹25000 along with a trophy each. The six-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by Rao's Chess Corner at Sharada Vidyalaya Kodialbail in Mangaluru, Karnataka from 25th to 30th September 2025. This is Nithin's first rating tournament triumph of the year. Photo: Rao's Chess Corner
Nithin's first rating tournament triumph of the year
Nithin Babu made a perfect start by winning eight games in-a-row. He had a full point lead over the field, heading into the last round. Six players - Dinesh Kumar Jaganathan, Mandar Pradip Lad, Vikramjit S Singh, Pranav A J, Mythireyan P and Savanth Krishnan R were at 7/8 each. Mandar defeated Nithin, still the latter won the tournament as he had better tie-breaks. Mandar finished second. Vikramjit drew against Dinesh who claimed third place. Rao's Chess Corner is run by Karnataka's top chess couple - IM Sharan Rao (Founder) and WIM Isha Sharma.
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A total of 448 players including three IMs took part from all over the country, one from Canada, Kenya and USA each, and four from Sri Lanka. The six-day nine round Rating Open tournament was organized by Rao's Chess Corner at Sharada Vidyalaya Kodialbail in Mangaluru, Karnataka from 25th to 30th September 2025. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Nithin Babu, | IND | 2297 | Kl | 8 | 55 | 59,5 | 51,5 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Lad Mandar Pradip, | IND | 2392 | Goa | 8 | 50,5 | 55 | 48,5 | |||
| 3 | 11 | Dinesh Kumar Jaganathan, | IND | 1997 | Tn | 7,5 | 53,5 | 57,5 | 47,3 | |||
| 4 | 43 | Pranav A J, | IND | 1814 | Kar | 7,5 | 51,5 | 55 | 44,3 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Singh S. Vikramjit, | IND | 2156 | Mn | 7,5 | 50,5 | 54,5 | 43,3 | |||
| 6 | 25 | Savanth Krishnan R, | U16 | IND | 1901 | Kl | 7,5 | 49 | 53 | 42,5 | ||
| 7 | 34 | Adhithya S, | IND | 1841 | Tn | 7,5 | 49 | 53 | 42,3 | |||
| 8 | 36 | Rejath Renjith, | U16 | IND | 1835 | Kl | 7,5 | 47 | 51,5 | 41,3 | ||
| 9 | 33 | Mythireyan P, | IND | 1843 | Tn | 7,5 | 46,5 | 50,5 | 41,3 | |||
| 10 | 13 | AIM | Christy George, | U16 | IND | 1977 | Kl | 7 | 51 | 56 | 41,3 | |
| 11 | 39 | Siva, Adithyan S | U16 | IND | 1832 | Tn | 7 | 49 | 54 | 41 | ||
| 12 | 20 | Raaghav Kabil M, | IND | 1919 | Tn | 7 | 49 | 54 | 40,5 | |||
| 13 | 28 | Raju S, | IND | 1880 | Tn | 7 | 49 | 54 | 40,5 | |||
| 14 | 26 | AIM | Pankaj Bhat, | IND | 1890 | Kar-Dk | 7 | 49 | 53 | 39,5 | ||
| 15 | 14 | FM | Anilkumar O.T., | S60 | IND | 1968 | Kl | 7 | 48 | 51,5 | 38,3 | |
| 16 | 46 | Dhanush Ram M, | IND | 1807 | Kar-Dk | 7 | 46 | 49 | 36 | |||
| 17 | 61 | Partha Sarathi Satpathy, | IND | 1767 | Or | 7 | 44,5 | 48,5 | 34,5 | |||
| 18 | 56 | AGM | Lakshith B Salian, | IND | 1774 | Kar-Dk | 7 | 44 | 47,5 | 36 | ||
| 19 | 49 | Rakshith M, | IND | 1803 | Tn | 7 | 44 | 47 | 34,8 | |||
| 20 | 127 | AFM | Mithun Pranav, | U13 | IND | 1632 | Tn | 7 | 40,5 | 43,5 | 32,3 | |
| 21 | 3 | IM | Saravana Krishnan P., | IND | 2307 | Tn | 6,5 | 52,5 | 57,5 | 39 | ||
| 22 | 7 | IM | Murali Krishnan B T, | IND | 2080 | Tn | 6,5 | 52,5 | 57 | 38,3 | ||
| 23 | 17 | Aditya Savalkar, | IND | 1933 | Mh | 6,5 | 51,5 | 56 | 37,8 | |||
| 24 | 12 | Tiwari Arjun, | IND | 1983 | RSPB | 6,5 | 51 | 55 | 38,8 | |||
| 25 | 42 | AIM | Theephigaa K P, | F16 | w | IND | 1814 | Tn | 6,5 | 48,5 | 54 | 37,3 |
Links
Rao's Chess Corner: Official site, fb page, instagram and youtube
