Seventeen-year-old Apoorv Kamble won Bengaluru's FIDE-rated rapid chess competition on Wednesday (August 26), accumulating 8.5 points across nine rounds. Sammed Jaykumar Shete finished second while Vaidyanathan Kannan took the third spot.
17-Year-Old Apoorv Kamble Wins FIDE-Rated Rapid Tournament
Kamble scored 8.5 points from nine rounds to clinch the title, with Sammed Jaykumar Shete finishing second and Vaidyanathan Kannan third.
Over 700 participants from diverse age and rating categories vied for a share of the Rs 4 lakh prize pool. The event serves as a precursor to Season 4 of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL), which will take place in the city next month.
Matches followed a nine-round Swiss system, utilizing a time control of 10 minutes alongside a five-second increment per move. The teenager signed up for the event shortly after arriving from Mumbai, where he participated in the Asian Junior Championship.
“I wasn’t planning to play this tournament as I had just returned from Mumbai. I decided to register at the last minute, and it turned out to be a great decision,” Kamble said.
“I had two strong wins against Sameer Shetty and top seed Vishak Enna. Finishing with 8.5 points gives me a lot of confidence. This win has given me more belief to take on higher-rated players without being intimidated,” Kamble added to PTI.
The participant list also included Grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, known for previously coaching current world champion D Gukesh. Prior to the fifth round, Global Chess League Commissioner Gourav Rakshit executed the ceremonial opening move on the top board. This competition belongs to the broader Road2GCL campaign, designed to involve local chess communities, clubs, schools and grassroots competitors.
Scheduled for September 5 to 13, the fourth season of the GCL will bring six global franchises to Bengaluru. Prominent competitors include World No 1 Magnus Carlsen, chess icon Viswanathan Anand, Candidates winner Javokhir Sindarov and reigning World Cup champion Divya Deshmukh, alongside Arjun Erigaisi, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Levon Aronian and Nihal Sarin.
Organized jointly by FIDE and Tech Mahindra, the league features six-member squads consisting of top male, female and prodigy talents. Past seasons were hosted in Mumbai, London and Dubai.
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