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 |

SNA Seminar & Exam at Amity University, Near Chandigarh Airport, Airport Road, Mohali, Punjab on 03 & 04 October 2026.
SNA Seminar & Exam at Chenduran college of Engineering , Lenavilakku, Pudukkottai District ,Tamil Nadu on 31 October & 01 November 2026
FIDE World Championships U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 & U17 – 2026 in Roquetas de Mar, Spain from 13th to 21st October 2026
Certificate: SNA Seminar & Exam held in Jammu on 17 & 18 July 2026
Asian Amateur Chess Championships – 2026 (Men & Women U2300 – U2000 – U1700) in Bangkok, Thailand from 20th to 30th November, 2026.
Final report :Asian Junior Open & Girls Chess Championships 2026 in Mumbai from 16-26 August 2026