Top seed Russian Grandmaster Ponkratov Pavel (8.0) emerged the Chennai Open 2020 Champion, with superior tie-break score, after the 10th and final round of the 12th Chennai Open International Grandmaster Chess tournament 2020 for Sakthi Group Dr. N. Mahalingam Trophy at Hotel Novotel & IBIS OMR, Sholinganallur, Chennai here today. Ponkratov takes home the handsome Sakthi Group Dr. N. Mahalingam Trophy along with the cash award of Rs. 300000 (Rupees three lakhs only). The first runner up prize of Rs 200000 (Rupees two lakhs only) went to Grandmaster Martinez Alcantara Jose Eduardo of Peru.
In a first, the Chennai Open 2020 saw an eight-way-tie for the top spot. Sharing the podium with Ponkratov at 8.0 points were Grandmasters Martinez Alcantara Jose Eduardo (Per), Yudin Sergei (Rus), Aleksandrov Aleksej (Blr), Rozum Ivan (Rus), Bogdanovich Stanislav (Ukr), Stupak Kirill (Blr) and Vishnu Prasanna. V (Ind).
International Master Norms were achieved by Harshavardhan G B, Jubin Jimmy, Pranav V and Rohit Krishna S. while Priyanka K made a WIM Norm.
In a grand closing ceremony, 55 cash prizes out of total prize money of Rs. 15,00,000 (Rupees fifteen lakhs only) were distributed by, Chief Guest Shri Manickam, Chairman & Managing Director, Sakthi Group and President, TNSCA. Present in the dais were Guest of Honor, Shri D V Sundar, Vice President, FIDE, Shri Stephen Balasamy P, Gen. Secy, TNSCA, Technical Director, R Anantharam, Chief Arbiter R Srivatsan and Shri; Rohan, General Manager, Novotel & IBIS OMR Hotels.
Final Ranking after 10 Rounds
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Bdld | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
| 1 | 1 | GM | Ponkratov Pavel | RUS | 2622 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 65,0 | 70,5 | 54,75 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Martinez Alcantara Jose Eduardo | PER | 2606 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 62,0 | 67,5 | 52,75 | |
| 3 | 12 | GM | Yudin Sergei | RUS | 2508 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 62,0 | 67,0 | 52,25 | |
| 4 | 4 | GM | Aleksandrov Aleksej | BLR | 2592 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 60,5 | 66,0 | 51,50 | |
| 5 | 7 | GM | Rozum Ivan | RUS | 2573 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 60,0 | 65,0 | 50,75 | |
| 6 | 8 | GM | Bogdanovich Stanislav | UKR | 2562 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 59,5 | 63,5 | 49,00 | |
| 7 | 13 | GM | Stupak Kirill | BLR | 2506 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 58,5 | 63,5 | 48,75 | |
| 8 | 18 | GM | Vishnu Prasanna. V | IND | 2474 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 57,0 | 61,5 | 44,75 | |
| 9 | 11 | GM | Visakh N R | IND | 2518 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 63,5 | 68,5 | 48,75 | |
| 10 | 60 | FM | Jubin Jimmy | IND | 2193 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 62,0 | 66,0 | 48,25 | |
| 11 | 52 | FM | Rohith Krishna S | IND | 2289 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 59,5 | 63,0 | 45,50 | |
| 12 | 24 | IM | Mitrabha Guha | IND | 2448 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 58,0 | 62,5 | 45,50 | |
| 13 | 10 | GM | Fedorov Alexei | BLR | 2562 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 57,0 | 62,0 | 45,75 | |
| 14 | 21 | GM | Neverov Valeriy | UKR | 2460 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 57,0 | 62,0 | 45,25 | |
| 15 | 32 | GM | Karthikeyan P. | IND | 2416 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 56,0 | 60,5 | 43,50 | |
| 16 | 5 | GM | Goganov Aleksey | RUS | 2583 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 62,5 | 67,5 | 44,50 | |
| 17 | 38 | IM | Muthaiah Al | IND | 2367 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 59,5 | 64,5 | 42,50 | |
| 18 | 6 | GM | Mchedlishvili Mikheil | GEO | 2578 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 59,0 | 64,0 | 42,25 | |
| 19 | 30 | IM | Khusenkhojaev Muhammad | TJK | 2420 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 58,5 | 63,0 | 41,50 | |
| 20 | 20 | IM | Taher Yoseph Theolifus | INA | 2462 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 58,0 | 63,0 | 42,50 |
Certificate of National Under 09 Chess Championship 2026 in Ranchi , Jharkhand from 06-12 July 2026. 
Commonwealth School Chess Championships – 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 4th to 12th October 2026. 
Chess Problem Corner 
20th Asian Schools Chess Championships – 2026 in Tula region ,Russia from 1st to 11th October 2026. 
SNA Seminar & Exam in Guwahati , Assam on 02 & 03 September 2026