Aronyak Ghosh dominates 1st Haldia PMZDS Rapid and Blitz Rating Open 2026

IM Aronyak Ghosh scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 and 9/9 to win 1st Haldia PMZDS Rapid and Blitz Rating Open 2026. GM Aaryan Varshney and Soumma Chakraborty scored 8/9 each to secure second and place respectively in Rapid. FM Aditya Vikram Paul, Indranil Das, Soumma and Soham Roy scored 8/9 each in Blitz. They were placed second to fifth respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund was ₹300000, ₹200000 for Rapid and ₹100000 for Blitz. The top three prizes were ₹100000, ₹60000 and ₹40000 along with a trophy each.

Aronyak’s fifth overall, third rating tournament triumph

Rapid

The newly crowned National Rapid 2026 champion, IM Aronyak Ghosh was the sole leader 7.5/8 in the Rapid event, heading into the last round. Six players – GM Aaryan Varshney, WFM Sneha Halder, FM Aditya Vikram Paul, Swapan Mitra, Soumma Chakraborty and Aditya Kayet were trailing by a half point at 7/8 each. Swapan Mitra lost to Aronyak and he became a clear champion. India’s 92nd GM Aaryan defeated Aditya Kayet to finish second. Soumma won against Shankhadeep Maity to finish third.

Champion – IM Aronyak Ghosh 8.5/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Second Runner-up – Soumma Chakraborty 8/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

IM Aronyak Ghosh scored an unbeaten 8.5/9, finished a half point ahead of the rest and gained 4.6 Elo rating points

4th FM Aditya Vikram Paul 7.5/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

5th Niladri Banerjee 7.5/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

9th Swapan Mitra 7/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangha

Best Veteran 1st Goutam De 6.5/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Best Veteran 2nd Kishor Kumar Saha 5.5/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Best Veteran 3rd Goutam Kumar Roy 3/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Blitz

The top seed of the tournament, IM Aronyak Ghosh continued his momentum in Blitz after winning the Rapid event. He made a blazing start by winning eight games in-a-row and had a full point lead heading into the final round. Eight players were trailing him by a full point. Despite needing a draw to become a clear champion, Aronyak went for the maximum. Aronyak defeated India’s 92nd GM Aaryan Varshney to become the champion with a 100% score 9/9. Paramarth Mitra lost to FM Aditya Vikram Paul and the latter finished second. Arnab Nandy suffered defeat against Indranil Das who claimed third place.

Champion – IM Aronyak Ghosh 9/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Runner-up – FM Aditya VIkram Paul 8/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Second Runner-up – Indranil Das 8/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

IM Aronyak Ghosh scored a perfect 9/9, finished a full point ahead of the rest and increased his Elo rating by 10.7 points

4th Soumma Chakraborty 8/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

5th Soham Roy 8/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

9th Paramarth Mitra 7/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Best Veteran 1st Goutam De 6.5/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Best Veteran 2nd Swapan Mitra 6/9 | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

GM Dibyendu Barua and various dignitaries light up the lamp | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Inaugural first move | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

The tournament hall at Haldia Refinery Employees Club in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

Trophies for the prize winners | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

The organizing team – Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha | Photo: Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha

A total of 358 players including a GM and three IMs took part from various parts of the country. The two-day nine-round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha at Haldia Refinery Employees Club in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal on 28th and 29th March 2026. The time control of the tournament was 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment.

Final standings in Rapid Rating

Details

A total of 355 players including a GM and three IMs took part from various parts of the country. The one-day nine-round Blitz Rating Open tournament was organized by Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha at Haldia Refinery Employees Club in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal on 29th March 2026. The time control of the tournament was 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment.

Final standings in Blitz Rating

Details

Links

Purba Medinipur Zilla Daba Sangstha