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 |


Fide Trainer Seminar in Mohali from 02-04 October 2026
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.