Photos: Rupesh Kumar
International Master Vardaan Nagpal scored 8/9 points to clinch the DCA Open FIDE Rated Tournament which was held between March 23-27 at Hotel Caspia, New Delhi.
A total number of 641 players which includes ten International Masters and 532 International rated players from different parts of India and four foreign federations have participated in the event which was spread over five days with a time control of 90 minutes and 30 seconds increment from move 1. The total prize fund of the event was Rs.18,18,000.
The four-way tie for the top spot was resolved by tie break score. Local lad Vardaan Nagpal edged out others to clinch the title along with a cash award of Rs. 1,01,000/- while Bharat Kumar Reddy finished as first runner up to pocket a cash prize of Rs. 75000/-
FM Matta Vinay Kumar secured the second runner up trophy along with Rs. 50,000/- cash prize while Rishi Sardana of Australia was placed on the fourth spot.
In a colorful closing ceremony, Shri. Bharat Singh, Secretary All India Chess Federation gave away the cash prizes and trophies to the winners along with Shri. AK Verma, Secretary Delhi Chess Association, Shri. Prateek Khanna and Parth Narang of Nurtr Group.
Final Ranking after 9 Rounds
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | K | rtg+/- | |
| 1 | 7 | IM | Vardaan Nagpal | IND | 2378 | DEL | 8,0 | 0,0 | 53,5 | 58,5 | 51,25 | 7 | 10 | -0,1 | ||
| 2 | 15 | Bharat Kumar Reddy Poluri | IND | 2218 | AP | 8,0 | 0,0 | 53,0 | 57,0 | 49,50 | 7 | 20 | 41,0 | |||
| 3 | 19 | FM | Matta Vinay Kumar | IND | 2146 | Andhra Bank | 8,0 | 0,0 | 52,5 | 57,5 | 50,25 | 7 | 20 | 30,4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | IM | Sardana Rishi | AUS | 2417 | AUS | 8,0 | 0,0 | 52,5 | 57,0 | 49,75 | 7 | 10 | 11,3 | ||
| 5 | 6 | IM | Rajesh V A V | IND | 2413 | TN | 7,5 | 0,0 | 52,5 | 57,5 | 46,75 | 6 | 10 | -1,9 | ||
| 6 | 8 | IM | Palit Somak | IND | 2330 | WB | 7,5 | 0,0 | 51,5 | 56,0 | 44,75 | 6 | 10 | 2,6 | ||
| 7 | 17 | Lokesh N. | IND | 2157 | TN | 7,5 | 0,0 | 51,0 | 55,5 | 44,50 | 7 | 20 | 20,4 | |||
| 8 | 2 | IM | Muthaiah Al | IND | 2426 | TN | 7,5 | 0,0 | 50,0 | 54,5 | 44,25 | 6 | 10 | -3,2 | ||
| 9 | 10 | FM | Gajwa Ankit | IND | 2286 | MP | 7,5 | 0,0 | 48,5 | 53,0 | 44,25 | 6 | 20 | -12,6 | ||
| 10 | 5 | IM | Harikrishnan.A.Ra | IND | 2413 | TN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 54,0 | 59,0 | 44,00 | 6 | 10 | -6,2 | ||
| 11 | 29 | Pimpalkhare Vedant | IND | 2046 | MAH | 7,0 | 0,0 | 52,0 | 56,0 | 42,00 | 5 | 20 | 28,8 | |||
| 12 | 13 | IM | Deshmukh Anup | IND | 2257 | MAH | 7,0 | 0,0 | 51,5 | 55,5 | 41,25 | 6 | 10 | -4,2 | ||
| 13 | 18 | Manigandan S S | IND | 2157 | TN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 51,5 | 55,5 | 40,75 | 6 | 20 | 0,0 | |||
| 14 | 45 | Vinay Raj Bhatt | IND | 1965 | UTT | 7,0 | 0,0 | 49,5 | 53,5 | 38,50 | 7 | 20 | 17,0 | |||
| 15 | 23 | Soham Kamotra | U15 | IND | 2110 | J&K | 7,0 | 0,0 | 49,5 | 52,5 | 37,00 | 7 | 40 | 26,0 | ||
| 16 | 9 | CM | Aronyak Ghosh | IND | 2326 | WB | 7,0 | 0,0 | 49,0 | 53,5 | 38,75 | 6 | 20 | -8,8 | ||
| 17 | 52 | Shubham Shukla | IND | 1948 | PUN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 49,0 | 53,0 | 38,00 | 7 | 20 | 18,2 | |||
| 18 | 48 | Saranya Y | w | IND | 1955 | TN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 47,0 | 51,5 | 37,00 | 6 | 20 | 10,6 | ||
| 19 | 40 | Aishwin Daniel | IND | 1971 | MP | 7,0 | 0,0 | 47,0 | 51,0 | 39,25 | 6 | 20 | -11,2 | |||
| 20 | 50 | Stanley Samson P. | IND | 1951 | TN | 7,0 | 0,0 | 47,0 | 51,0 | 37,25 | 6 | 20 | 4,2 |
Round 3 : 1st Chola Chess International Grandmaster Norm Round Robin Tournament 2026, Chennai. 
Day 2:1st Chola Chess International Grandmaster Norm Closed Circuit Chess Tournament, Chennai 
Fide Arbiter Seminar in Pune 28 Feb -02 March 2026 & Thoothukudi 07-09 March 2026 
First Chola chess International GM Norm Round Robin Tournament in form Chennai from 02 February to 11 February 2026. 
Live games link for First Chola chess International GM Norm Round Robin Tournament 2026 
Announcement : Medical Evaluation in Chennai on 27 & 28 February 2026.