Harika clinches double Gold at Asian Rapid and Blitz 2026 Women, double Silver for Goutham Krishna in Men
GM Harika Dronavalli clinched double Gold, IM Goutham Krishna H claimed double Silver at Asian Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2026.
A legend and a prodigy claim two Gold and two Silver
The Indian legend, GM Harika Dronavalli completely decimated the field. She scored an unbeaten 8.5/11 in the Rapid Women, edged past WGM Anna Shukhman on tie-breaks to clinch Gold. Harika had already beaten Shukhman in Round 6, so that worked in her favor. IM Pham Le Thao Nguyen (VIE) scored 8/9 to earn Bronze.
In Blitz Women, Harika scored 10.5/13 to finish clear first, winning her second Gold in Hong Kong. GM Valentina Gunina scored 10/13 to win Silver. WGM Umida Omonova (UZB) scored 9.5/13 to clinch Bronze.
The two-time Asian Junior champion – GM Aleksey Grebnev, the talented teenager, IM Goutham Krishna H and GM Ilia Iljiushenok scored 8.5/11 each in the Rapid Men. Grebnev clinched Gold on tie-breaks, Goutham Silver and Iljiushenok Bronze. Only Ilia remained undefeated among them.
In Blitz Men, GM Le Tuan Minh (VIE) and IM Goutham Krishna H scored 11/13 each. Le Tuan clinched Gold as he defeated Goutham in in Round 8, Goutham had to settle for Silver again. IM Haochen Jiang (CHN) scored 9.5/13 to claim Bronze. He had better tie-breaks than GM Hao Wang (CHN).
The total prize fund comibining Rapid and Blitz events was HKD 250000, 150000 in Rapid and 100000 in Blitz. The top three prizes in Rapid were: Men – HKD 40000, 20000 and 10000, Women – 20000, 10000 and 5000. For Blitz they were: Men – 26000, 13000 and 6500, Women – 13000, 6500 and 3500.
GM Harika Dronavalli (left) with her double Gold medals, IM Goutham Krishna H (right) with his double Silver medals | Photo: Various sources
Rapid Women: GM Harika Dronavalli scored an unbeaten 8.5/11, won Gold on tie-breaks and gained 2 Elo rating points
Blitz Women: GM Harika Dronavalli scored 10.5/13, finished a half point ahead of the rest to clinch Gold and increased her Elo rating by 11.5 points
Replay all Rapid Women games
Replay all Blitz Women games
Replay all Rapid Men games
Replay all Blitz Men games
Final standings in Rapid Women
Final standings in Blitz Women
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