IM Muthaiah Al wins 3rd Holi Cup Lakecity Open 2019

by Shahid Ahmed - 04/04/2019

IM Al Muthaiah of Tamil Nadu scored 7.0/8 and won 3rd Holi Cup Lakecity 2019. There was a six-way tie for the pole position. However, Muthaiah edged ahead due to a better tie-break score. This is Muthaiah's third tournament win in 47 days. Lokesh N, Manigandan S S, FM Matta Vinay Kumar, IM Somak Palit and Shubham are the other five players who also scored 7.0/8 and finished from 2nd to 6th position respectively. Top seed IM Sayantan Das finished at 7th position by scoring 6.5/8. Total 436 players including 7 IMs from all over India and a player each from Bangladesh and Nepal took part in this four-day 8-round Swiss League tournament. Total Rs 800000 cash prize was distributed among prize winners along with trophies and medals. Photo: Lakecity Chess

IM Al Muthaiah wins 3rd tournament in 47 days

It is safe to say that IM Al Muthaiah of Tamil Nadu is on fire. He won three tournaments in just 47 days and within the first three months of the year. He won KCA's 18th Open on 12th February, then he won 3rd Shaastra Rapid Rating on 24th February and now he won 3rd Holi Cup Lakecity Open 2019.

Al Muthaiah with the beautiful Champion's trophy. He also won ₹51000 cash along with it | Photo: Al Muthaiah

Muthaiah's unbeaten performance that favored him to win the tournament

Fun fact: Last game Muthaiah lost was on 3rd February in the last round of All India Rapid Rating against Pranesh M. Currently his undefeated streak is at 36 games including 4 tournaments out of which he has won 3 of them.

Here is a game annotated by the champion Al Muthaiah himself against FM Sauravh Khherdekar of Maharashtra from the penultimate round:

An interview was conducted by the author of this article with the man who is on fire lately, IM Al Muthaiah.

Shahid Ahmed (SA): How does it feel to win 3rd Holi Cup Lakecity Open 2019 ? Did you expect to win it before you started your tournament?

IM Al Muthaiah scored 7.5/9 at DCA Open 2019 and finished at 8th position | Photo: Rupesh Kumar

Al Muthaiah (AM): It feels great to win a tournament and I am happy about that. I didn't expect to win the tournament as I did not play well in the DCA Open Fide Rating Chess tournament which finished a day before this Lakecity tournament had started. My intention was to play good games.

SA: This is your third tournament win in 47 days and you are undefeated for 36 consecutive games spanning across 3 tournaments. What does it mean to you?

Muthaiah's 3rd tournament victory in 3rd Holi Cup Lakecity Open 2019

AM: I didn't really know the stats which you are telling me. But yeah it feels great to be undefeated for 36 games.

SA: How does it to feel win three tournaments in such a short span?

It all started with Muthaiah winning KCA's 18th Open in February 2019 | Photo: Al Muthaiah

AM: It feels good when you win a tournament. My intention is to play good chess in every game and I don't focus much on the results.

SA: What do you do with all the prize money you have won?

AM: I will probably use the prize money to play some abroad tournaments and buy some chess materials.

SA: Whom will you thank for your success?

AM: I would like to thank my family and friends for their support and everyone who has wished well for me.

SA: Who is your coach?

AM: Currently, I am working alone.

SA: What are you doing currently in terms of academics?

AM: I am studying B.Com (General) 2nd year at SRM University, Vadapalani, Chennai.

SA: How much support do you get from family and friends?

AM: My family supports me at all my ups and downs. And my chess friends also support me in every way they could. Especially my college, they provide me OD and take special classes to cope up with my studies.

SA: What's next for you?

AM: I am not playing anything for this month as I am having the semester exams.

SA: Thank you Muthaiah for your time and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

AM: Thanks for the interview.

Photo Gallery:

All Prize winners in one frame | Photo: Lakecity Chess

The tournament was inaugurated by R P Singh Aakwa, Om Banna Santha, Dhirendra Singh Sohal, Rajeev Bharadwaj - President of Chess in Lakecity, Kamlendra Singh Panwar, Vikas Sahu and Chief Arbiter Swapnil Bansod | Photo: Lakecity Chess

Chess is truly an inclusive sport. A Visually Challenged participant | Photo: Lakecity Chess

A Physically Challenged participant | Photo: Lakecity Chess

It is the only sport where a veteran can face a little kid | Photo: Lakecity Chess

The tournament hall | Photo: Lakecity Chess

The tournament witnessed over 430 players including 7 IMs from all over India and a player each from Bangladesh and Nepal took part in this four-day 8-round Swiss League tournament. Total Rs 800000 cash prize was distributed among prize winners along with trophies and medals. It was organized by Chess in Lakecity at Orbit Resort in Udaipur, Rajasthan from 28th to 31st March 2019.

Final Standings after Round 8

Rk.	SNo		Name	Typ	sex	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5
1	2	IM	Muthaiah Al			IND	2426	TN	7,0	0,0	42,0	46,5	39,75	6
2	8		Lokesh N.			IND	2157	TN	7,0	0,0	40,0	44,0	37,50	6
3	9		Manigandan S S			IND	2157	TN	7,0	0,0	39,5	43,0	36,00	6
4	10	FM	Matta Vinay Kumar			IND	2146	AB	7,0	0,0	39,0	43,5	37,50	6
5	6	IM	Palit Somak			IND	2330	WB	7,0	0,0	38,0	41,5	36,25	6
6	31		Shubham			IND	1880	DEL	7,0	0,0	35,0	38,5	33,50	7
7	1	IM	Das Sayantan			IND	2435	WB	6,5	0,0	42,0	46,0	36,00	5
8	3	IM	Harikrishnan.A.Ra			IND	2413	TN	6,5	0,0	40,0	44,0	33,50	6
9	4	IM	Rajesh V A V			IND	2413	TN	6,5	0,0	40,0	43,0	33,25	6
10	22		Arun Rathi			IND	1939	HAR	6,5	0,0	38,5	42,0	32,25	6
11	14	FM	Dutta Joydeep			IND	2097	WB	6,5	0,0	38,0	42,5	34,25	5
12	30		Awadh Chaitanya			IND	1882	MP	6,5	0,0	38,0	42,5	32,75	6
13	7	FM	Sauravh Khherdekar			IND	2272	MAH	6,5	0,0	38,0	42,0	32,50	6
14	11		Joshi Govind Ballabh	S55		IND	2128	DEL	6,5	0,0	37,0	41,0	32,50	5
15	15		Rathore S.K.	S55		IND	2092	MP	6,5	0,0	35,0	38,5	31,25	6
16	44		Chandan Mandal			IND	1799	DEL	6,5	0,0	34,5	38,5	30,25	5
17	159		Dhiraj Patil			IND	1425	MAH	6,0	0,0	40,5	42,5	29,00	6
18	34		Ayush Jha	U15		IND	1861	WB	6,0	0,0	38,0	42,0	29,50	5
19	18		Anadkat Kartavya	U15		IND	1998	GUJ	6,0	0,0	38,0	41,5	29,50	5
20	13		Dahale Atul			IND	2102	MAH	6,0	0,0	38,0	41,0	28,50	5
21	36		Chudasama Ankit			IND	1853	GUJ	6,0	0,0	37,5	41,0	30,50	6
22	42		Sanchit Anand			IND	1817	DEL	6,0	0,0	37,0	40,5	27,50	5
23	40		Dubey Sanchay			IND	1828	UP	6,0	0,0	36,5	40,0	29,00	6
24	65		Raj D Vyas			IND	1698	GUJ	6,0	0,0	36,5	40,0	26,50	6
25	47		Nirgun Keval			IND	1779	MAH	6,0	0,0	36,5	39,5	26,50	6
26	64		Cheniram Pegu			IND	1698	ASS	6,0	0,0	36,0	40,0	28,00	6
27	87		Krishnan Ritvik	U13		IND	1607	MAH	6,0	0,0	36,0	38,5	26,75	5
28	46		Shah Moxit J	U13		IND	1785	GUJ	6,0	0,0	35,5	39,5	28,50	5
	54		Atri Chattopadhyay	U15		IND	1743	WB	6,0	0,0	35,5	39,5	28,50	5
30	68		Chandan Palash N			IND	1689	MAH	6,0	0,0	35,0	38,0	27,00	6

Complete standings

Related news:

	Novendra Priasmoro wins 14th Penang Heritage City Open 2022, Muthaiah third @ 11/01/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Muthaiah Al triumphs at Tirumala Tirupati Rapid Rating Open 2022 @ 23/11/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Harikrishnan A Ra and Muthaiah Al win National Club Chess Championships 2021 in Maldives @ 26/01/2022 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	18th Delhi GM Open 2020: Muthaiah Al shines on day 2 @ 11/01/2020 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Al Muthaiah wins 5th Hatsun & Idhayam Open through Armageddon @ 15/10/2019 by R Anantharam (en)
	IM Al Muthaiah wins 6th Kurukshetra Open 2019 @ 01/08/2019 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Al Muthaiah wins 1st ICA Wayanad Open 2019 @ 26/05/2019 by Shahid Ahmed (en)