FM Vaibhav Jayant Raut of Nagpur secured first place with an unbeaten 8 out of 9 points at the inaugural G H Raisoni Memorial FIDE Rapid Rating Chess Tournament in Jalna, Maharashtra. Kartavya Anadkat finished second with the same score, while CM Naitik Mehta took third on tiebreaks from a five-way tie at 7.5 points. The one-day event drew 245 players from six states and offered a total prize fund of ₹200,000.
The 1st G H Raisoni Memorial FIDE Rapid Rating Chess Tournament took place on February 8 at Sri Chaitanya Techno School in Jalna, Maharashtra. Organized by the G H Raisoni Sports and Cultural Foundation and the Kalpana Prakash Welfare Foundation, the event featured a time control of 10 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per move. It attracted 245 registered players from Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.
Vaibhav Jayant Raut, a FIDE Master from Nagpur, led the field with an unbeaten performance, scoring 8/9 points. This victory marks his second FIDE-rated rapid tournament win in 20 days, following his clear first-place finish at the 3rd G H Raisoni Memorial Rapid Rating in Amravati on January 18. Heading into the final round, Raut and Anadkat were tied at 7.5/8 points. Their draw in that round ensured Raut's first place and Anadkat's second.
A five-way tie occurred at 7.5/9 points for third, with CM Naitik Mehta earning the spot through superior tiebreaks. Other players in the tie included Priyanshu Patil, Sahil Sanjay Shejal, Kashish Manoj Jain, and Pruthu Deshpande. The tournament's prize fund totaled ₹200,000, with the top awards going to Raut at ₹31,000, Anadkat at ₹25,000, and Mehta at ₹20,000.
Final standings highlighted strong performances from Maharashtra players, including Shriraj Bhosale from Kolhapur, Rushikesh Kabnurakar from Ahilyanagar, and Sarthak Shinde from Parbhani, who placed in the top 10.