Ajjesh J R wins 22nd Late Bharatbai Halkude Memorial Blitz Rating Open 2026
Ajjesh J R scored 8/9 to win 22nd Late Bharatbai Halkude Memorial Blitz Rating Open at LBHM Chess Festival 2026.
Ajjesh’s first rating tournament triumph of the year
IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh made a perfect start by winning eight games in-a-row. Nine players were trailing him by a full point at 7/8 each. Ajjesh J R defeated FM Gaurang Bagwe to become the champion. IM Kushagra Mohan stopped Nubairshah’s winning streak to finish second. Nubairshah had to settle for third position. This was Kushagra’s second podium finish after winning the Classical Rating Open on the very same day.
The total prize fund of the festival was ₹3222111, ₹201000 for Blitz Rating Open. The top three prizes were ₹20000, ₹15000 and ₹10000 along with a trophy and medal each.
Replay all available games
A total of 446 players including two GMs, eight IMs and a WIM took part from various parts of the country, one from Germany and Thailand each, and two from the USA. The one-day nine-round Blitz Rating Open tournament was organized by Nagnath Halkude at Dhruv Global School in Pune, Maharashtra on 22nd May 2026. The time control of the tournament was 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment.
Links
Late Bharatbai Halkude Memorial Chess Festival: facebook, Instagram and Youtube
Leave a Reply