Himal Gusain clear first at 2nd Suseema Trophy Rating Open 2026
IM Himal Gusain scored an unbeaten 7.5/8 to win 2nd Suseema Trophy Rating Open 2026.
Himal’s fifth rating tournament triumph of the year
IM Kaustuv Kundu and the top seed of the tournament, IM Himal Gusain were coleaders at 6.5/7 each, heading into the final round. Kishan Kumar, Yashad Bambeshwar, Shreyas Ghadi and Vaibhav Nema were trailing by a half point at 6/7 each. Himal defeated Vaibhav to become the champion. Yashad drew against Kaustuv and the latter finished second. Kishan lost to Shreyas who claimed third place. Immediately after this, Himal went on to win another Rating Open tournament in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. We will mention it detail in a separate report.
The total prize fund was ₹321000. The top three prizes were ₹61000, ₹41000 and ₹27000 along with a trophy each.
Top two: Champion – IM Himal Gusain 7.5/8 and Runner-up – IM Kaustuv Kundu 7/8 | Photo: Saroj Kumar Vaishnav / Suseema Welfare Foundation
Second Runner-up – Shreas Ghadi 7/8 | Photo: Saroj Kumar Vaishnav / Suseema Welfare Foundation
Top 3 (L to R): 3rd Shreyas Ghadi 7/8, 2nd IM Kaustuv Kundu 7/8 and 1st IM Himal Gusain 7.5/8 | Photo: Saroj Kumar Vaishnav / Suseema Welfare Foundation
Ambikapur Mayor Manjusha Bhagat was the Chief Guest at the awards ceremony. She showed keen interest in the competition and pledged all possible support to elevate the Suseema Trophy to an international level. The event was presided over by the Suseema Welfare Foundation President, Ramanand Jaiswal. The gathering was also addressed by Saroj Kumar Vaishnav, Joint Secretary of Chhattisgarh State Chess Association, Biswanath Manian, Chairman of the Organising Committee and Vishwas Tiwari, Secretary of Susima Welfare Foundation. The welcome address was given by Sujit Jaiswal, President of the Foundation and conducted by Satyendra Prajapati.
IM Himal Gusain scored an unbeaten 7.5/8, finished a half point ahead of the rest and increased his Elo rating by 3.9 points
Inauguration Ceremony | Photo: Saroj Kumar Vaishnav / Suseema Welfare Foundation
Inaugural first move | Photo: Saroj Kumar Vaishnav / Suseema Welfare Foundation
Ramanand Jaiswal and former Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh T S Singhdev inaugurated the tournament.Ramanand Jaiswal is the patron and founder of Suseema Welfare Foundation.
Arbiters’ team | Photo: Saroj Kumar Vaishnav / Suseema Welfare Foundation
Various prize winners | Photo: Saroj Kumar Vaishnav / Suseema Welfare Foundation
The tournament hall at Multipurpose Hall, Gandhi Stadium Ambikapur in Sarguja, Chhattisgarh | Photo: Saroj Kumar Vaishnav / Suseema Welfare Foundation
Thanks to Mr. Saroj Kumar Vaishav, Tournament Director and Joint Secretary of Chattisgarh State Chess Association for sharing the photographs and information.
Replay few games
A total of 202 players including two IMs took part from all over the country. The four-day eight-round Rating Open tournament was organized by Suseema Welfare Foundation at Multipurpose Hall, Gandhi Stadium Ambikapur in Sarguja, Chhattisgarh from 22nd to 25th October 2026. The time control of the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Leave a Reply