With a superlative performance in the AICF World Cup Qualifier, Grandmaster P Iniyan booked his tickets to Sochi for the World Cup 2021.
The online 17 player round robin tournament at Tornelo platform was organized by All India Chess Federation to select a player for the World Cup 2021 after Asian Continental Hybrid Chess Championship got cancelled at Indian venues due to surge in Covid cases.
Iniyan registered 12 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw in the process to earn 12 ½ points while Grandmaster D Gukesh also scored identical score but Direct Encounter tie break helped Iniyan to book the only berth for the world cup. Grandmaster Sethuraman S P finished third with 10½ points while experienced campaigner Surya Sekhar Ganguly finished fourth with 10 points.
All India Chess Federation congratulate P Iniyan for winning the Qualifier and wish him the very best for the World Cup. Further we extend our heartfelt thanks to all the players for their whole hearted support and cooperation for the event following an unprecedented situation.
We congratulate the Arbiters team of Dharmendra Kumar, Gopakumar M S and Vivek Sohani for meticulously conducting the event without any issues.
All India Chess Federation takes this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude to Prof Ken Regan for his invaluable contribution for the success of the event.
The final standings:-
| Rank | Name | Rtg | Pts | Res. | SB | Vict | Vict | |
| 1 | GM | P Iniyan | 2506 | 12½ | 1 | 91.25 | 12 | 5 |
| 2 | GM | Gukesh D | 2578 | 12½ | 0 | 88.00 | 10 | 6 |
| 3 | GM | S.p Sethuraman | 2644 | 10½ | 0 | 69.25 | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | GM | Sekhar Ganguly Surya | 2625 | 10 | 3 | 78.75 | 9 | 4 |
| 5 | GM | S.L Narayanan | 2624 | 10 | 1½ | 69.00 | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | IM | S. Nitin | 2381 | 10 | 1 | 65.50 | 9 | 4 |
| 7 | IM | Rithvik R Raja | 2408 | 10 | ½ | 67.50 | 8 | 4 |
| 8 | IM | Srivatshav Peddi Rahul | 2463 | 9 | 0 | 67.25 | 8 | 3 |
| 9 | GM | Baskaran Adhiban | 2660 | 8½ | 0 | 59.00 | 6 | 1 |
| 10 | GM | Sengupta Deep | 2527 | 8 | 0 | 51.75 | 7 | 3 |
| 11 | IM | Mittal Aditya | 2438 | 7½ | 0 | 53.50 | 6 | 1 |
| 12 | GM | Vasanthan Perumal Vishnu Prasanna | 2476 | 6½ | 0 | 48.00 | 5 | 3 |
| 13 | IM | Krishna Crg | 2478 | 6 | 0 | 40.75 | 5 | 2 |
| 14 | IM | Swaminathan Soumya | 2351 | 5 | 0 | 32.00 | 3 | 1 |
| 15 | FM | Vinay Kumar Matta | 2305 | 4 | 1 | 26.50 | 4 | 1 |
| 16 | IM | Krishnan P Saravana | 2312 | 4 | 0 | 22.75 | 3 | 1 |
| 17 | FM | Singhania Vatsal | 2371 | 2 | 0 | 9.75 | 1 | 0 |
TENTATIVE NATIONAL CALENDAR FOR 2026-27 
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