Goa’s Nitin Belurkar maintains lead after 5th round of Maharashtra International Open GM Chess 2025

Meanwhile, in the B Category, Karnataka’s A Balkishan clinched the title with 7.5 points after holding Tamil Nadu’s Ram Krishnan to a draw in the ninth and final round. Balkishan employed the Slav defense while playing black and wrapped up the match after 30 well-fought moves.

Balkishan received a trophy along with a cash prize of Rs 1.10 lakh, while Maharashtra’s Advik Agrawal, who also finished with 7.5 points but lost the final round to Nameet Chavan, was declared the runner-up and awarded Rs 95,000. Gujarat’s Anadkat Kartavya secured the third spot, also with 7.5 points, and took home Rs 85,000.

The B Category saw several gripping encounters, including Kartavya’s win over Maharashtra’s Shriraj Bhosale and Atharva Madkar’s victory against Jwalin Mehta of Gujarat. The tightly contested category featured players from across the country.

The tournament is being conducted according to FIDE regulations and will consist of 10 rounds, using a ‘Swiss-System’ format. This means that players are paired based on their performance, rather than in a traditional round-robin or single-elimination structure. Each player will receive 90 minutes for their moves, with an increment of 30 seconds added after each move, starting from the first move. The total prize money for the Maharashtra International Open GM Chess Tournament is Rs 30 lakh. It began on April 20 and will continue until April 28.

Aryesh Chakraborty is an intern with The Indian Express