13th National Amateur 2026 R1-4: 25 players make a perfect start
Rupam Mukherjee (WB), CM Samuel Stephen Noble S (AP) and Mokshith Pasupulety (TEL) are the three leaders at 4/4 after the conclusion of Round 4 at 13th National Amateur Chess Championship 2026 Below 2300.
By R Anantharam

Below 1700 Women Round 3: Ananya Anuj (TN) – Sayee Atreyi Mohapatra (TN): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: IA R Anantharam
WCM B Krithika of Tamil Nadu shared the lead with three points each at the end of the third round of the 13th National Amateur Chess Championships, organized by Ananthi Chess Academy Madurai and Viyugam Chess Academy at Adhiyaman College of Engineering, Hosur today. Top seed P Bala Kannamma of Tamil Nadu was held to a draw by her teammate R Pooja Shree in the third round. In the open category, six players have scored thee points, including second seeded S Haridev of TN and third seeded Indrajeet Mahindrakar of Maharashtra. Top seed G Gokul had two successive setbacks – a loss in the second round and a draw in the third round.
In the under 2000 open category, third seeded R Gokula Vishnu and seventh seed Piyush Kumar of Bihar are the only players among the top ten seeded players to be in the leader group of ten players with three points each. Highest rated player in this group, P Lokesh Kumar was held to a draw by Akash Tiwari of West Bengal. Among the women, PL Kavitha emerged sole leader with three points by beating Mohitha Vakcheri of AP.
Unrated and 432nd seeded P Sai Dev of Karnataka is one among the thirty four leaders with three points each in the under 1700 group. Fourteen players are in the lead in the under 1700 group for women.
Important Results of Round 3
Under 2300 Open
| Haridev, S | Tamil Nadu | 3 | beat | 2 | Sai, Abhinav Kuchibhotla | Tamil Nadu |
| Shubham, Lakudkar | Maharashtra | 2 | lost to | 3 | Mokshith, Pasupulety | Telangana |
| Rahul, Ramakrishnan | Puducherry | 2.5 | drew with | 2.5 | Nandha, Kumar K | Tamil Nadu |
| Rupam, Mukherjee | West Bengal | 3 | beat | 2 | Gokul, Krishna S | Tamil Nadu |
| Andalamala, Hemal Varshan | AP | 3 | beat | 2 | Adhrit, Das Purkayastha | Karnataka |
Under 2000 Open
| 1 | Logesh, Kumar R | Tamil Nadu | 2.5 | drew with | 2.5 | Akash, Tiwari | West Bengal | |
| 2 | Gokula, Vishnu R | Tamil Nadu | 3 | beat | 2 | Yuvanesh, A | Karnataka | |
| 3 | Akshat, Negi | Delhi | 2 | lost to | 3 | Kesavan, G | Tamil Nadu | |
| 4 | Kumar, Piyush | Bihar | 3 | beat | 2 | Ishmeet, Singh | Punjab | |
| 5 | Rajveer, Patil | Goa | 3 | beat | 2 | Arnav, Gupta | Rajasthan |
Under 1700 Open
| White | Club/City | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Club/City |
| Anant, A V | Kerala | 2 | lost to | 3 | Aole, Sangharsh | Maharashtra |
| Muthuraman, Kesavamoorthy | Tamil Nadu | 3 | beat | 2 | Kumaran, Sachidhanantham | Tamil Nadu |
| Pidugu, Sanjay Sahul | AP | 3 | beat | 2 | Mynam, Dushyant Srivatsav | Tamil Nadu |
| Saurabh, Somvanshi | UP | 3 | beat | 2 | Kavin, Adhithya D | Tamil Nadu |
| Ethan, Mathew Silveira | Goa | 2 | lost to | 3 | Boopesh, Kumar M | Tamil Nadu |
Under 2300 Women
| White | Club/City | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Club/City |
| Bala, Kannamma P | Tamil Nadu | 2.5 | drew with | 2.5 | Pooja, Shree R | Tamil Nadu |
| Anandhi, P | Karnataka | 2 | lost to | 3 | Krupha, S Ukkali | Karnataka |
| Kirthika, B | Telangana | 3 | beat | 1½ | Rajasurya, J. | Tamil Nadu |
| Ameya, A R | Kerala | 1½ | lost to | 2 | Keerti, Shree Reddy | Tamil Nadu |
| Borate, Tanvi | Maharashtra | 2 | beat | 1 | Hanya, Shah | Gujarat |
Under 2000 Women
| Ratnapriya, K | Tamil Nadu | 2.5 | drew with | 2.5 | Pavithra, R V | Tamil Nadu |
| Charudharshini, R | Tamil Nadu | 2.5 | drew with | 2.5 | Arpita, Patankar | Gujarat |
| Vakcheri, Mohitha | AP | 2 | lost to | 3 | Kavitha, P L | Tamil Nadu |
| Kiyanna, Parihaar | Rajasthan | 1½ | lost to | 2½ | Dhanushkka, S | Karnataka |
| Trisha, B | Tamil Nadu | 1½ | lost to | 2½ | Yakshini, P | Tamil Nadu |
Under 1700 Women
| Madke, Ishika | Chhattisgarh | 2.5 | drew with | 2.5 | Haritha, R | Tamil Nadu |
| Ananya, Anuj | Tamil Nadu | 2.5 | drew with | 2.5 | Sayee, Atreyi Mohapatra | Tamil Nadu |
| Disha, U A | Karnataka | 3 | beat | 2 | Suba, Shree T | Tamil Nadu |
| Saravanan, Sajitha | Tamil Nadu | 2 | lost to | 3 | Rajeswari, Aiyappan | Karnataka |
| Chaitra, Sree Magham | Telangana | 2 | lost to | 3 | Meha, Arin A | Tamil Nadu |
| Deepthaashri, Ravi Ganesh | Tamil Nadu | 3 | beat | 2 | Tanishka, Jain | Karnataka |
The tournament was inaugurated by Dr. M Manickam, President, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and Chairman Sakthi Group of Companies and Grandmaster Thej Kumar, Secretary, Karnataka State Chess Association, in the honourable presence of Mr. D V Sundar, a former Vice President of FIDE. Mr. P Stephen Balasamy, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association was felicitated in the function, for his outstanding contribution and service for the growth of chess in Tamil Nadu. Mr. P Pragadesh, the Tournament Director welcomed the gathering and Dr. Manickam, Mr. DV Sundar and Mr. B Murugavel felicitated Mr. Stephen.

The tournament was inaugurated by Dr. M Manickam, President, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association | Photo: IA R Anantharam
Under-1700 Open Round 4 results
Round 5 pairings
Under-1700 Women Round 4 results
Round 5 pairings
Under-2000 Round 4 results
Round 5 pairings
Under-2000 Women Round 4 results
Round 5 pairings
Under-2300 Open Round 4 results
Round 5 pairings
Under-2300 Women Round 4 results
Round 5 pairings
About the Author

Prof. Rathinam Anantharam is an A-grade international arbiter. Member of the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, Chairman of the Titles Commission in the All India Chess Federation, Vice President of the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association, Chief Arbiter for six world championships, many Asian, International, and National Championships.

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