Golden Square Chess Academy is a chess academy based in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, affiliated to the Thanjavur District Chess Association. It organises Vimana City's International FIDE Rated Open, now in its second edition — one of very few FIDE rated international opens held in the Delta districts of Tamil Nadu.
Golden Square Chess Academy
Address
Plot No. 15, Raja Nagar
RSG College Post, Near HDFC Bank
New Bus Stand, Thanjavur – 613 005
Tamil Nadu, India
The organisers
The academy is run by the same people who run the tournament — the ones who will be in the hall on the morning of 27 September. You are calling them directly.
Further numbers, including Hindi-speaking help and a dedicated accommodation desk, are listed on the tournament page.
The tournament
The academy's current event is Vimana City's 2nd International FIDE Rated Below 1700 Chess Tournament, played from 27 to 29 September 2026 in Thanjavur — nine rounds under the Swiss system, FIDE rated, AICF approved and TNSCA approved, with ₹11,00,000 in total cash prizes. Every tournament the academy has run is listed under Our Tournaments.
A separate FIDE rated Blitz is held on the afternoon of 8 August, entry ₹1,000, with its own prize fund of ₹2,00,000 (AICF 482843/TN(B)/2026, TNSCA RBR-03/TNJ/26-27).
The venue
Play takes place at Kamala Subramaniam Matriculation Higher Secondary School, one kilometre from Thanjavur New Bus Stand. Accommodation for players is at the venue, free, in hostel-type shared rooms a short walk from the playing hall.
Kamala Subramaniam Matric. Hr. Sec. School
Pudukkottai Road
Thanjavur – 613 007
Tamil Nadu, India
Thanjavur — the Vimana City — takes its name from the tower of the thousand-year-old Brihadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site six kilometres from the hall. Full travel details by road, rail and bus are on the tournament page.
Why this tournament exists
International opens cluster in the big cities. The Delta districts produce serious players and rarely get to host them. Vimana City's International FIDE Rated Open was set up so that a rated international — with a real prize fund, a full nine rounds and an International Arbiter in the hall — happens in Thanjavur itself.
That is also why accommodation at the venue is free for every player, why there are eleven separate prize lists rather than one, and why unrated players have a section of their own carrying a ₹50,000 first prize. A player who has never had a rating and a player chasing a norm can enter the same event and each have something real to play for.
History
The 2026 event is the second edition of Vimana City's International FIDE Rated Open. Beyond that, the academy has not published a detailed record of past events; the figures on this site all come from the official brochure for the 2026 tournament.