In a tournament of turnarounds and surprises, eighth seed Shanmukha Pulli, who was not expected to be in contention for the crown, emerged the champion of the 6th FIDE Rating Chess Championship in Mumbai.

Starting the last round as the joint overnight leader with the favourite, Arnav Kheredekar, Pulli, 24, drew his last round quickly with Darsh Shetty and ended in a three-way tie at the top with the remaining results going his way.