Prepare against M.R. Venkatesh
GM · India · World #3,092 classical · FIDE ID 5005779
When preparing against M.R. Venkatesh, expect 1.e4 in 66% of White games. Against 1.e4 the reply is 1...c5 (61% of games); against 1.d4, 1...Nf6 (91%). Lowest win rate among frequent openings: Sicilian: Moscow Variation as White, 30.0% over 20 games.
Our database contains 1,374 games by M.R. Venkatesh, covering Apr 2003 to Oct 2026. Below you'll find M.R. Venkatesh's most-played openings with White and Black, career performance record, notable wins and top events — everything you need to scout M.R. Venkatesh before a game. You can open the same data in the free interactive preparation workstation, which builds a move-by-move opening tree from every game.
Ratings
| Time control | Current | Peak | Peak date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical | 2,335 | 2,528 | Dec 2018 |
| Rapid | 2,340 | 2,527 | May 2014 |
| Blitz | 2,398 | 2,607 | Dec 2012 |
Performance record
| Split | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1,374 | 639 | 424 | 311 | 46.5% |
| As White | 697 | 337 | 201 | 159 | 48.4% |
| As Black | 677 | 302 | 223 | 152 | 44.6% |
FIDE rated record
From FIDE's official rated-game ledger (2003-2026): 2,183 rated games against 1,400 different opponents, across 194 events in 31 countries. These counts cover FIDE-rated play only, so they differ from the database totals above.
By time control
| Format | Games | W | D | L | Win rate | Avg opp | Perf | Unbeaten |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classical | 1,686 | 838 | 524 | 324 | 49.7% | 2,310 | 2,430 | 35 |
| Rapid | 99 | 64 | 15 | 20 | 64.6% | 2,148 | 2,322 | 17 |
| Blitz | 157 | 85 | 20 | 52 | 54.1% | 2,356 | 2,438 | 15 |
Against the field
| Opposition | Games | W | D | L | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Against higher-rated | 535 | 98 | 220 | 217 | 18.3% |
| Against lower-rated | 1,635 | 1,017 | 401 | 217 | 62.2% |
Wins over titled players: 195 vs GM · 261 vs IM · 183 vs FM · 53 vs CM · 38 vs WGM · 20 vs WIM · 13 vs WFM · 7 vs WCM.
Tournament wins
21 tournament wins from 190 events, 9 of them outright.
Year by year
| Year | Games | W | D | L | Avg opp | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 31 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 2,033 | 2,136 |
| 2025 | 95 | 46 | 30 | 19 | 2,213 | 2,327 |
| 2024 | 118 | 70 | 31 | 17 | 2,030 | 2,208 |
| 2023 | 118 | 58 | 34 | 26 | 2,210 | 2,319 |
| 2022 | 91 | 51 | 25 | 15 | 2,206 | 2,365 |
| 2020 | 37 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 2,320 | 2,396 |
| 2019 | 95 | 52 | 20 | 23 | 2,251 | 2,373 |
| 2018 | 82 | 51 | 20 | 11 | 2,343 | 2,538 |
| 2017 | 135 | 76 | 34 | 25 | 2,232 | 2,383 |
| 2016 | 141 | 78 | 26 | 37 | 2,246 | 2,360 |
| 2015 | 109 | 49 | 28 | 32 | 2,391 | 2,453 |
| 2014 | 116 | 64 | 28 | 24 | 2,287 | 2,420 |
| 2013 | 42 | 27 | 11 | 4 | 2,360 | 2,575 |
| 2012 | 177 | 87 | 55 | 35 | 2,377 | 2,495 |
| 2011 | 141 | 76 | 38 | 27 | 2,327 | 2,464 |
| 2010 | 132 | 63 | 47 | 22 | 2,289 | 2,413 |
| 2009 | 95 | 55 | 20 | 20 | 2,210 | 2,352 |
| 2008 | 140 | 70 | 43 | 27 | 2,337 | 2,460 |
| 2007 | 94 | 44 | 38 | 12 | 2,275 | 2,405 |
| 2006 | 72 | 28 | 29 | 15 | 2,409 | 2,481 |
| 2005 | 26 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 2,363 | 2,471 |
| 2004 | 66 | 27 | 29 | 10 | 2,386 | 2,489 |
| 2003 | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 2,403 | 2,376 |
Where M.R. Venkatesh has played
India (129) · France (21) · Spain (17) · United Arab Emirates (12) · Russia (11) · United States (8) · Austria (5) · Czechia (5) · Malaysia (5) · Thailand (5) · Greece (4) · Netherlands (4) · Switzerland (4) · England (3) · Qatar (3) · Sri Lanka (3) · Australia (2) · Canada (2) · China (2) · Myanmar (Burma) (2) · Portugal (2) · Vietnam (2) · Andorra (1) · Belgium (1) · Bulgaria (1) · Germany (1) · Iran (1) · Israel (1) · Nepal (1) · Romania (1) · Singapore (1)
Move-by-move preparation stats
Straight from the preparation tree built over all of M.R. Venkatesh's games — the same tree the interactive prep board lets you walk to any depth. Scores are from M.R. Venkatesh's side.
First moves as White (697 games)
| Move | Games | Share | Player score |
|---|---|---|---|
| e4 | 458 | 65.7% | 64.3% |
| Nf3 | 219 | 31.4% | 59.4% |
| d4 | 9 | 1.3% | 50.0% |
| b3 | 8 | 1.1% | 56.3% |
| c4 | 2 | 0.3% | 25.0% |
| g3 | 1 | 0.1% | 50.0% |
Main lines as White
- 1.e4 — 66% of White games, 64.3% score
- …c5 (46% of these games) — Venkatesh usually continues Nf3 (59.6% score)
- …e5 (23% of these games) — Venkatesh usually continues Nf3 (66.0% score)
- …e6 (15% of these games) — Venkatesh usually continues d4 (76.7% score)
- 1.Nf3 — 31% of White games, 59.4% score
- …Nf6 (47% of these games) — Venkatesh usually continues g3 (67.2% score)
- …d5 (36% of these games) — Venkatesh usually continues g3 (53.1% score)
- …c5 (12% of these games) — Venkatesh usually continues g3 (73.1% score)
As Black against 1.e4 (288 games)
| Move | Games | Share | Player score |
|---|---|---|---|
| c5 | 175 | 60.8% | 64.6% |
| e5 | 97 | 33.7% | 55.2% |
| g6 | 7 | 2.4% | 57.1% |
| d5 | 6 | 2.1% | 50.0% |
| e6 | 3 | 1.0% | 83.3% |
As Black against 1.d4 (270 games)
| Move | Games | Share | Player score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nf6 | 246 | 91.1% | 59.8% |
| g6 | 12 | 4.4% | 100.0% |
| d5 | 7 | 2.6% | 35.7% |
| Nc6 | 5 | 1.9% | 60.0% |
M.R. Venkatesh's chess games
All 1,374 games by M.R. Venkatesh in the Chess.ceo database (Apr 2003 - Oct 2026) are free to browse, search and replay: filter by opening, opponent, event or date on the player page, or step through any game on the analysis board. Record: 639 wins, 424 draws, 311 losses.
Openings as White
| ECO | Opening | Games | W/D/L | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A07 | Réti Opening | 125 | 67/27/31 | 53.6% |
| C06 | French: Tarrasch Variation | 59 | 37/17/5 | 62.7% |
| B23 | Sicilian: Closed | 56 | 38/6/12 | 67.9% |
| B21 | Sicilian | 54 | 28/15/11 | 51.9% |
| C77 | Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense | 32 | 20/9/3 | 62.5% |
| A05 | Réti Opening: Symmetrical Defense | 27 | 13/8/6 | 48.1% |
| B20 | Sicilian: Snyder Variation | 22 | 13/5/4 | 59.1% |
| A08 | King's Indian Attack | 20 | 10/6/4 | 50.0% |
| B52 | Sicilian: Moscow Variation | 20 | 6/8/6 | 30.0% |
| B90 | Sicilian: Najdorf | 16 | 9/2/5 | 56.3% |
Openings as Black
| ECO | Opening | Games | W/D/L | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B67 | Sicilian | 74 | 39/22/13 | 52.7% |
| E11 | Bogo-Indian Defense | 43 | 16/17/10 | 37.2% |
| A46 | Indian Defense | 39 | 17/12/10 | 43.6% |
| E04 | Catalan | 32 | 10/12/10 | 31.3% |
| B30 | Sicilian: Rossolimo | 28 | 14/10/4 | 50.0% |
| B33 | Sicilian: Sveshnikov | 25 | 8/10/7 | 32.0% |
| E32 | Nimzo-Indian: Classical Variation | 25 | 14/7/4 | 56.0% |
| C78 | Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense | 25 | 11/6/8 | 44.0% |
| A13 | English Opening | 24 | 9/10/5 | 37.5% |
| C54 | Italian Game | 22 | 9/8/5 | 40.9% |
Notable wins
| Date | Opponent | Elo | Event | ECO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2015 | Gawain C B Maroroa Jones | 2,671 | 13th Gibraltar Masters | B07 |
| Aug 2018 | Anton Demchenko | 2,670 | 6th Pontevedra Open A | A49 |
| Jan 2012 | Denis Khismatullin | 2,664 | Moscow Open A | E11 |
| Nov 2014 | Nigel D Short | 2,661 | Yangon Zaw Win Lay Memorial | B65 |
| Apr 2024 | Alexei Shirov | 2,661 | Titled Tue Early | C78 |
Top events
| Event | Year | Games | Score | TPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ch-Commonwealth | 2022 | 74 | 50 | 2,425 |
| Titled Tuesday | 2024 | 44 | 26.5 | 2,391 |
| 30th ch-IND | 2003 | 23 | 11.5 | 2,426 |
| Wch Blitz | 2016 | 21 | 8 | 2,368 |
| 43rd ch-IND | 2006 | 20 | 13 | 2,562 |
| ch-IND | 2004 | 18 | 10.5 | 2,511 |
| Qatar Masters Open | 2023 | 18 | 8 | 2,361 |
| ch-IND 53rd | 2015 | 13 | 4.5 | 2,380 |
Frequent opponents
Head-to-head records: Surya Shekhar Ganguly (11 games) · K. Ratnakaran (11 games) · Abhijeet Gupta (10 games)
Interactive opening tree from all 1,374 games, weak-spot detection and engine analysis.
Start preparationFrequently asked questions
Where can I find M.R. Venkatesh's chess games?
1,374 games by M.R. Venkatesh, from Apr 2003 to Oct 2026, are free to browse and replay move by move — no signup needed. The preparation view groups them into an opening tree showing every line M.R. Venkatesh has played.
What does M.R. Venkatesh play on the first move as White?
Across 697 games with White in our database, M.R. Venkatesh opens with 1.e4 (66% of games), 1.Nf3 (31% of games), 1.d4 (1% of games). Against 1.e4 as Black, M.R. Venkatesh answers 1...c5 (61% of games), 1...e5 (34% of games), 1...g6 (2% of games). Against 1.d4: 1...Nf6 (91% of games), 1...g6 (4% of games), 1...d5 (3% of games).
What openings does M.R. Venkatesh play as White?
As White, M.R. Venkatesh's most-played openings in our database are: Réti Opening (125 games, 53.6% win rate); French: Tarrasch Variation (59 games, 62.7% win rate); Sicilian: Closed (56 games, 67.9% win rate). The full breakdown of 697 games with White is in the table above.
What openings does M.R. Venkatesh play as Black?
As Black, M.R. Venkatesh most often plays: Sicilian (74 games, 52.7% win rate); Bogo-Indian Defense (43 games, 37.2% win rate); Indian Defense (39 games, 43.6% win rate). See the table above for the top ten Black openings across 677 games.
What is M.R. Venkatesh's FIDE rating?
M.R. Venkatesh is currently rated 2,335 in classical chess, 2,340 in rapid and 2,398 in blitz. Peak classical rating: 2,528 (Dec 2018).
How many games has M.R. Venkatesh played?
Our database contains 1,374 games by M.R. Venkatesh, covering Apr 2003 to Oct 2026. Overall record: 639 wins, 424 draws, 311 losses (46.5% win rate).
How do I prepare against M.R. Venkatesh?
1,374 games by M.R. Venkatesh reveal their opening repertoire, most-played lines, and the variations where they score worst — the raw material for targeted preparation. The interactive opening tree lets you walk every line to any depth.