Manika Kesavan clear first at 12th BBCF Below 1700 FIDE Rated 2026
Manika Kesavan scored an unbeaten 8/9 points to win the 12th BBCF Below 1700 International FIDE Rated Chess Tournament. Seven players, including Arun Lobo, Riddhish Khishore V, Santhosh T, Dhanvant Balachandran, Reshikeshava B, Murugan V, and Vasikaran G, scored 7.5/9 points to finish from 2nd to 8th place, respectively, according to the tiebreak scores. The total prize fund of this 3-day below-1700 FIDE-rated classical event was ₹6,00,000. The event was organized by the Brains Behind Chess Foundation at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai from 12th to 14th April 2026. Photos: Balaji S /Brains Behind Chess Foundation
Manika Kesavan's 1st Triumph of 2026
Going into the last round, Manika Kesavan was leading the event with 7.5/8 points, and 6 players were trailing behind with 7/8 points. On the top 4 boards, all the games ended in a draw, where Manika Kesavan drew against Riddhish Khishore to win the event, while Riddhish finished in 3rd place.
Photo Gallery: Here
A total of 504 players took part in this 3-day event. The time control was 30 minutes with an increment of 30 seconds from move 1.
Final Ranking after 9 Rounds
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | Typ | sex | Gr | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | 9750CHE2026 | 1663 | 8 | 52,5 | 56,5 | 49,25 | 0 | ||||||
2 | 77 | KA | 1569 | 7,5 | 51,5 | 54,5 | 43,5 | 0 | ||||||
3 | 10 | U12 | 6834SIV2026 | 1662 | 7,5 | 50 | 54,5 | 43 | 0 | |||||
4 | 40 | 24103CHE2026 | 1608 | 7,5 | 48,5 | 53,5 | 44 | 0 | ||||||
5 | 60 | U12 | KA | 1591 | 7,5 | 48,5 | 52,5 | 42,75 | 0 | |||||
6 | 38 | 6539RAN2026 | 1618 | 7,5 | 47 | 50 | 41 | 0 | ||||||
7 | 215 | 7928TLR2026 | 1463 | 7,5 | 45 | 47,5 | 37,25 | 0 | ||||||
8 | 14 | U15 | 13627CGL2026 | 1656 | 7,5 | 43 | 47 | 37,5 | 0 | |||||
9 | 9 | AP | 1663 | 7 | 50,5 | 54,5 | 39,25 | 0 | ||||||
10 | 33 | U15 | 9573CHE2026 | 1627 | 7 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 38,5 | 0 | |||||
11 | 17 | KL | 1653 | 7 | 49 | 53,5 | 41 | 0 | ||||||
12 | 19 | WB | 1650 | 7 | 49 | 52,5 | 38,75 | 0 | ||||||
13 | 1 | AP | 1694 | 7 | 48 | 51,5 | 38 | 0 | ||||||
14 | 21 | 3220CHE2026 | 1649 | 7 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 37,5 | 0 | ||||||
15 | 20 | TG | 1649 | 7 | 47 | 50,5 | 37 | 0 |
