Anuj Shrivatri wins SBI GIC Rapid Rating Open 2026 at IIT Kanpur

IM Anuj Shrivatri, Arnav Agrawal, GM Aaryan Varshney and IM Aaditya Dhingra scored 8/9 each at SBI GIC Rapid Rating Open 2026. Anuj won the tournament on tie-breaks. The remaining three were placed second to fourth respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund was ₹200000. The top three prizes were ₹40000, ₹25000 and ₹15000 along with a trophy each. This is Anuj’s fourth tournament triumph of the year.

Anuj’s fourth rating tournament triumph of the year

The top seed of the tournament, IM Anuj Shrivatri made a perfect start by winning eight games in-a-row. He had a full point lead heading into the final round. Half a dozen players – GM Aaryan Varshney, IM Aaditya Dhingra, Arnav Agrawal, WFM Sachi Jain, FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma and Akshat Negi were trailing by a full point at 7/8 each. Anuj lost his last game of the event against Arnav. However, that did not affect his first place finish, due to his better tie-break scores. Arnav claimed second place. Aaryan defeated Madhvendra to clinch third place.

Champion – IM Anuj Shrivatri 8/9 | Photo: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Runner-up – Arnav Agrawal 8/9 | Photo: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Second Runner-up – GM Aaryan Varshney 8/9 | Photo: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

IM Anuj Shrivatri en route one of his eight wins | Photo: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

IM Anuj Shrivatri scored 8/9, won the tournament on tie-breaks and gained 12.8 Elo rating points

Players in action | Photo: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

The tournament hall at Yoga Hall, IIT Kanpur in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh | Photo: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Akshat Rastogi’s participation should certainly inspire a lot of other chess enthusiasts | Photo: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

The Core team of IIT Kanpur (L to R): Pulkit Gajipara, Kushagra Shukla, Tanmay Sahare, and Akshat Srivastava

A total of 336 players including a GM and three IMs took part from all over the country and one from Bangladesh. The one-day nine-round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by and at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh on 7th February 2026. The time control of the tournament was 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment.

Final standings

Details