Sri Vijaya Puram, Sept. 1: The Andaman & Nicobar Islands have recorded a historic milestone in the field of chess, as 22 players successfully opened their FIDE Ratings after participating in the 1st Andaman & Nicobar International Open FIDE Rating Tournament, held at Sri Vijaya Puram from 23rd to 28th August 2025, as per the latest rating list published on 01.09.2025. This remarkable achievement was made possible as the tournament witnessed the participation of a large number of rated players from mainland India and abroad, creating a highly competitive environment and offering local players the best platform to secure their international FIDE ratings.
Notably, this is the first time in the history of the Islands that such a significant number of players have opened their international ratings in a single tournament — a proud and unforgettable moment for the Andaman & Nicobar chess fraternity. Remarkably, 19 of these players are very young, showcasing the immense talent and bright future of chess in the Islands.
The players who have newly opened their FIDE Ratings after participating in the 1st A & N International Open FIDE Rated Chess Tournament 2025 are Nimish Bantupalli (1645), Tejass R (1642), Mahesh Kumar D (1621), Supratik Mandal (1611), M Gaurav (1562), Harsith K (1551), Srinesh S (1550), V Ayaan (1528), S Sarisha (1511), B Jashith (1503), B Kavya (1495), Brijnesh B (1495), Bhavishya S (1478), Deep Kumar Das (1471), Sriya Raj (1469), Ajay Reyya (1460), S Eshan (1457), Hardik Chakravarty (1452), S Jyosith (1448), N Kaushik (1447), Krishna Priya B Rajesh (1428), and S Ashwin (1418).
Andaman Nicobar Chess Association (ANCA) expressed deep gratitude to the All India Chess Federation (AICF) for showing faith in the Islands by granting the opportunity to host this international tournament, and to the Chief Secretary of Andaman & Nicobar Administration for his invaluable support and visionary guidance.