May Day Chess Festival 2026 — A Day of Chess, Friendship, and Fun
Seed Succeed Chess Academy hosted its first-ever May Day Chess Festival on 1 May 2026 — a full day of competitive chess featuring back-to-back Rapid and Blitz Open tournaments. Both events together brought together close to a hundred participants — kids, teens, adults, parents, professionals, and even a Grandmaster — all under one roof for a celebration of the game.
The energy was incredible. The discipline was even better. And we are still smiling about how well it all came together.
The Two Tournaments
We ran two separate FIDE-style Swiss tournaments on the same day:
- May Day Rapid Open — 6 rounds, 34 players, morning to afternoon
- May Day Blitz Open — 6 rounds, 49 players, evening session
Both events were open to everyone — academy students, parents, outside players, titled masters, and complete beginners. That mix is exactly what we wanted.
Rapid Tournament — The Champions
Saashwat M and Vijay Karthik S tied at the top with 5.0/6, a fantastic performance from both. Saashwat took the title on tie-break (Buchholz), with Vijay Karthik as runner-up.
A three-way logjam at 4.5 followed — Dhanvanth, Saikiraan Ravi, and Anson A — all finishing within tenths of each other on tie-breaks.
A special mention to Saashwat M — born in 2017, he didn’t just win Best U-10, he won the entire Rapid Open. That’s the kind of result that defines a tournament.
Blitz Tournament — The Stars Came Out
The Blitz drew an even bigger and stronger field, with 49 players including a Grandmaster, an FM, an AFM, and an IA.
🏆 Champion — FM Pranav K P with a perfect-looking 6.0/6. A clinical, dominant performance.
🥈 Runner-up — Saikiraan Ravi (1439) with 5.0/6. He held strong against the field and only lost to the eventual champion in the final round. (More on Saikiraan below.)
🥉 Joint Third — GM R. R. Laxman, Santhanam H, and Mirthyunjai Gopinath — all at 5.0/6, separated only by tie-break.
Special category winners:
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best U-10 | Mirthyunjai Gopinath |
| Best U-14 | Anson A |
| Best Girl | AFM Ananya Chandramouli |
| Best Youngest | Abijayath S K (born Nov 2020) |
A Little Family Rivalry 😄
Here’s a fun behind-the-scenes story.
There was an unofficial little contest going on inside our home — my wife Harini’s students vs my students competing in the same tournaments. Both of us coach, and we’ve always had this friendly rivalry over whose students will do better.
I’m happy to report — my students came out on top this time! Saikiraan Ravi finished 2nd in the Blitz, and several of my other students placed in both events. Harini took it sportingly. There will be a rematch.
The Grandmaster, the FM, and the Senior
We were deeply honoured to have GM R. R. Laxman participate in our event. Having a Grandmaster sit down and play in a small academy tournament is not something we take for granted. Thank you, Laxman sir, for gracing us with your presence and for taking these games seriously alongside our young players. It meant the world to the kids — many of them were playing across the table from a GM for the first time in their lives.
A huge thank you also to FM Pranav K P for tagging along with Laxman sir and turning what would have been a regular tournament into something the kids will talk about for months. Congratulations, Pranav, on a brilliant 6/6 and on taking the Blitz title!
And a special tribute to Guruji E. K. Dhilipkumar — our senior-most participant at 64 years old, FIDE rated 1444, who played all 6 rounds with the energy of someone half his age and finished a respectable 4.0/6 in the Blitz. Guruji, you are a living lesson to all of us that chess truly has no age. Thank you for showing up.
Thank You, Santhanam Sir 🙏
A particularly touching moment for me personally — International Arbiter Santhanam H, who has been the arbiter for many tournaments I’ve played in over the years, played in our tournament today while we ran the event for him. The student becomes the host, the player becomes the organizer.
Chess has a beautiful way of bringing things full circle. Thank you, Santhanam sir, for the trust and for finishing strong with 5.0/6 in the Blitz — joint third place.
The Real Heroes — Saikiraan and Saicharan Ravi
A massive thank you to the Ravi brothers — not just for playing brilliantly (they finished in the prize lists in both events!) but for going far above and beyond to keep the entire tournament running smoothly.
Saikiraan Ravi was hands-on with setting up the boards, arranging the pieces, and helping run the tournament logistics before and between rounds.
Saicharan Ravi wore even more hats — he handwrote certificates, captured photos and videos throughout both events, and helped with logistics whenever needed. Half the photos in the album you’ll see below exist because of him.
Without you boys, none of this would have happened on schedule. You are the heart of this academy.
A Word About the Players
We have run several events now, and I have to say — the discipline at this tournament was noticeably better than at our Friday Night Blitz events. Players sat down on time, results were reported promptly, and the entire venue had a focused-but-friendly atmosphere from start to finish.
To every single player who came — thank you for your cooperation. We could not have run two tournaments back-to-back in a single day without it.
The Arbiter Team ⚖️
Running two FIDE-style 6-round Swiss tournaments in a single day takes a serious arbiter team. Ours pulled it off without a hitch:
- Sai Prahlad K (Chief Arbiter)
- Bhanumathy (mother)
- Harini (wife)
- Banumehala (academy staff)
Pairings were posted on time, results were entered cleanly, disputes (the few there were) were settled fairly, and both tournaments wrapped up exactly on schedule. That is the gold standard, and our team delivered it.
Behind the Scenes — My Family
Running a tournament of this scale is never a one-person job. I want to thank:
- Harini, my wife — for handling half of the logistics I forgot existed, for serving on the arbiter team, and for letting our friendly student rivalry play out in good spirit.
- Bhanumathy, my mother — the unsung backbone of this event. She served on the arbiter team, personally distributed the prizes to all the winners, and contributed to certificate writing alongside the rest of the team. On top of that, she kept the kitchen running, the tea flowing, and stayed calm through every small crisis. Without her, this tournament simply would not have happened.
- Banumehala, our academy staff — also part of the arbiter team and a steady pair of hands throughout the day. From signing players in to keeping things moving between rounds, she was everywhere she needed to be.
- Abijayath, my son (5 years old) — already a seasoned tournament player despite his age, he sat down and played the Blitz alongside players many years older and finished with 2.0/6. Every tournament he plays I see him grow, and watching him compete with that fearlessness is one of the great joys of my life as a father and a coach.
- Tejas (3 years old) and Narendra Vidyuth (2 Years old) my youngest sons for their good behavior.
- Sherlock (my old doggy), my cat, and all our pets — who put up with the chaos and kept the house cheerful even when it shouldn’t have been.
And to all the parents who stayed back to support their kids, helped each other with food and rides, cheered without disturbing games — you are the reason this academy exists.
A Special Thank You — Juice Garden 🍹
A genuine thank you to Juice Garden for stepping in at the last minute with pens, tea, and biscuits when our supplies ran short. That bit of timely help saved us a huge logistical headache and kept the players (and arbiters!) fueled through the day.
⭐ Help Us Grow — Leave a Review
If you or your child enjoyed the tournament, the single best thing you can do for us is leave a Google review.
👉 Leave a Review for Seed Succeed Chess Academy
Reviews are how new families discover us. Every star, every kind word, every shared experience helps us:
- Reach more young players who would love this game
- Justify hosting bigger and better tournaments
- Improve and learn from your honest feedback
- Keep prizes generous and entry fees fair
It takes 30 seconds. It means the world. And it tells us you want more events like this one — which we very much want to deliver.
If you have a moment now, please head over and share your experience. We read every single review.
📸 Tournament Photos
We captured a ton of moments throughout the day — kids concentrating, GM Laxman in deep thought, Abijayath at the board, prize distribution smiles, and lots more.
👉 Download the full photo album here
Feel free to download, share, and tag us on social media. These memories belong to all of us.
Standings, Points, and What’s Next 🚀
All standings, tie-breaks, and round-by-round results have been uploaded to our new platform:
LearnChess.Pro is our home for academy leaderboards, tournament listings, player profiles, and event registrations. Every player who participated in today’s events earns points on our leaderboard.
We maintain separate leaderboards for different categories so that beginners, intermediates, and advanced players all have something to climb. Check your standing, see how you compare with your friends, and start playing for points in our future events.
Future tournaments will all be listed on LearnChess.Pro. Bookmark the site, register your profile, and don’t miss the next one.
What’s Next?
Today’s event was a huge success — the kids loved it, the adults loved it, the discipline was top-class, and the momentum we’ve built is real.
We’ll be running more open tournaments — Rapid, Blitz, and possibly classical — through the rest of the year. We’ll also keep growing LearnChess.Pro as the place where the chess community in our circle comes together.
If you couldn’t make it this time, register on LearnChess.Pro and you won’t miss the next one.
Thank You — From All of Us
To everyone who played, helped, cheered, donated time, made tea, set up boards, and showed up — thank you. This academy runs on community, and today proved it.
If I missed thanking anyone by name, please forgive me — know that you were valued and you made this day what it was.
See you all at the next one. 🎉♟️
— Sai Prahlad K Founder & International Chess Coach, Seed Succeed Chess Academy Chennai
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