5th Holi Cup International Open Fide Rating Open Chess Tournament 2023 organized by Chess in Lakecity, Udaipur, Rajasthan was held at Orbit Resort, New Bhopalpura, R K circle, Near Miraj Mallhar Complex, Udaipur from 16th to 20th April 2023. This tournament was organized under the aegis of FIDE, AICF and Rajasthan Chess Association.
OPENING CEREMONY The inauguration event was presided over by Chief Guest Mrs. T Shubhmangala (IES, CEO Jila Parishad, Sirohi) and Distinguished Guests Mr. William D’Souza (Principal, St. Anthony’s SSS, Udaipur), Ms. Jessy D’Souza, Mr. Ashish Kothari (Corporator), Mr. Sanjeev Kothari, Chess in Lakecity’s Chief Patron Mr. Tushar Mehta, President Mr. Rajeev Bhardwaj Tournament Director IA & FI Rajendra Teli, IA & NI Vikas Sahu (Organizing Secretary) and IA Sunil Soni (Chief Arbiter). Chief Guest Mrs. T Shubhmangala inaugurated the event by making the customary first move on the board with Mr. William D’Souza.
Opening
Sitting guest Mrs. T Shubhmangala (playing 1st move) with a player, Standing from left- Mr. Varun Kumar (deputy Chief), Mr. Neelesh Kumawat (deputy Chief), Mr. Rajeev Bhardwaj (President Chess in Lakecit), Mr. Rajendra Teli (Tournament Director), Mr. William D’Souza (Principal, St. Anthony), Mr. Sanjeev Bhardwaj, Ms. Jessy D’Souza Mr. Ashish Kothari (Corporator) and Chess in Lakecity’s Chief Patron Mr. Tushar Mehta.
PLAYERS PARTICIPATION & ROUNDS The event was conducted in classical 9 round Swiss format, with a time control of 90 minutes with an increment of 30 seconds per move. 357 players (4 IM 2 FM & 1 CM, 1 AIM, 1 AGM, 6 AFM, and 5 ACM) participated in this tournament with players coming from USA, FID, Sri Lanka and host federation’s different states of India. Utsab Chatterjee from West Bengal state elected top seeded with FIDE rating of 2338. There was 1 big hall where all the players accommodated to play. Veteran player Mr. Subramanian T.V. (TN) was the oldest player with age of 89 years while 4.5 years old Trimaan Kaur Gill (Punjab) youngest chess player as attraction of the tournament.
RESULTS & CLOSING CEREMONY The Prize distribution function was presided over by Chief Guest Ms. Mamta Kanwar (Jila Pramukh, Udaipur BJP), Distinguished Guest Mr. Pramod Samar (Sahkarita Prakoshth Pradesh Adhyaksh, B.J.P.), Special Guest Mr. Siddhant D’Souza of St. Anthony’s SSS, Udaipur, Mr. Bhanwar Singh Rathore, Mr. Gajpal Singh, Mr. Anil Agrawal, Vice President of Rajasthan Chess Association IA & FI Rajendra Teli, Mr. Tushar Mehta (Chief Patron, Chess in Lakecity) and in the presence of Vikas Sahu (Organizing Secretary). The prizes were distributed by all the guests. Total of 139 (92 cash prizes along with 47 trophies) worth of Rs. 15, 01,000/- were distributed away to all prize holders as electronic prizes. At the end of final round games third seeded IM Chakravarthy Reddy M (Tel) scoring 8.5 points bagged the Champion title with cash prize of Rs. 1,11000/- and a beautiful trophy. Second seeded IM Rajesh VAV (SCR) drew with Seventh seeded Kumar Gaurav (BIH) and scored 7.5 points with better tie breaks points grabbed 2nd position with cash prize of Rs. 71,000/- and a trophy and fifth seeded FM Matta Vinay Kumar (UBI) scored same 7.5 points secured third position received Rs. 41,000/- with trophy. In the attractive rating category prizes Harshvardhan Swami (Rajasthan) who scored same 7.5 points in the tournament, grabbed 1st position in 1300-1599 rating category and won 1,01,000/- and a trophy while Golatkar Aditya (Mah) scored 6.5 points grabbed 1st position in 1000-1299 rating category and won 100,000/- and a trophy.
Prize distribution pictures: – Left to right: – Mr. Bhanwar Singh Rathore, Mr. Sanjeev Bhardwaj, first runner up IM Rajesh VAV (SCR), Chief Guest Ms. Mamta Kanwar (Jila Pramukh, Udaipur BJP), Champion IM Chakravarthy Reddy M (Tel), Distinguished Guest Mr. Pramod Samar, Mr. Tushar Mehta, Mr. Gajpal Singh, Rajendra Teli, second runner up FM Matta Vinay Kumar (UBI), Chief Arbiter IA & NI Sunil Soni and Vikas Sahu (Organizing Secretary) along with Harshvardhan Swami (Rajasthan), Golatkar Aditya (Mah) and other winners. Deputy Arbiters IA Varun Kumar and FA Neelesh Kumawat done their job wonderfully and sincerely. Sector Arbiters FA Manish Chandalia and FA Naveen Karthikeyan including FA Sanjeev Sharma, SNA Gayatri Kataria, SNA Dipika Sahu, SNA Daksh Jain, SNA Rajpreet Goyal, SNA Jaimal Singh Rathore, SNA Sudhakar, SNA Sangeeta Pandit, and Bhawesh Pandiyar did their job very well till the last round games, no single dispute occurred during the game in the tournament. I am proud of my lovely team. ARRANGEMENTS There was 1 big tournament hall where total 357 players played at one of the best renowned beautiful campus of city; it was spacious with sufficient drinking water and toilet facilities. The Cleanness and beauty of tournament hall and venue got appreciated by every present person. There were strict prohibition for parents at tournament hall during the round; parents got allowed only at the both opening and closing ceremonies. The organizer provided AC rooms on sharing basis for accommodation and tasty, healthy food to all participants at the playing venue as complementary without charges
VOTE OF THANKS… I Sunil Soni, glad and thankful to AICF and the Organizer for providing me an opportunity to be the Chief Arbiter of this FIDE Rating Tournament and other arbiters who worked along with me to make this tournament highly successful. I am also thankful to Tournament Director IA & FI Rajendra Teli Sir, Mr. Vikas Sahu (Organising Secretary and Secretary Chess in Lakecity ) and Rajasthan Chess Association along with all the members of organizing team including those who gave me this opportunity to conduct the FIDE Rating event “5th Holi Cup International Open Fide Rating Chess Tournament 2023”.