Kaustuv Kundu wins 1st KDCA Independence Cup Rapid Rating Open 2026
IM Kaustuv Kundu, FM Sarbartho Mani and Ujan Chanda scored 8/9 each at 1st KDCA Independence Cup Rapid Rating Open 2026. Kaustuv won the tournament on tie-breaks. The remaining were placed second and third.
Kaustuv’s first rating tournament triumph of the year
The newly crowned National Under-11 Open 2026 champion, FM Sarbartho Mani was the sole leader at 7.5/8, heading into the final round. Five players – GM Aronyak Ghosh, IM Kaustuv Kundu, Mayukh Majumder, Ujan Chanda and Anuran Ghosh were trailing by a haf point at 7/8 each. Sarbartho drew against Aronyak to secure second place, Aronyak finished fourth. Mayukh lost to Kaustuv and he latter became the champion. Anuran lost to Ujan who claimed third place.
The Asian Youth Under-14 Girls Gold, Silver and Bronze medalist, WFM Maitreyi Mondal scored an impressive 7.5/9 to finish sixth. WFM Bristy Mukherjee also scored 7.5/9. She was placed tenth according to tie-breaks.
The total prize fund was ₹300000. The top three prizes were ₹30000, ₹25000 and ₹20000 with a trophy each.
Champion – IM Kaustuv Kundu 8/9
Interview with IM Kaustuv Kundu
Runner-up – FM Sarbartho Mani 8/9
Interview with FM Sarbartho Mani
Second Runner-up – Ujan Chanda 8/9
Round 8: IM Kaustuv Kundu – GM Aronyak Ghosh: 0.5-0.5
IM Kaustuv Kundu scored an unbeaten 8/9, won the tournament on tie-breaks and gained 12.6 Elo rating points
The legend – GM Dibyendu Barua made the ceremonial first move on the top board
4th GM Aronyak Ghosh 7.5/9
5th FM Aditya Vikram Paul 7.5/9
6th WFM Maitreyi Mondal 7.5/9
7th Arpan Das 7.5/9
8th CM Soham Roy 7.5/9
9th IM Souhardo Basak 7.5/9
10th WFM Bristy Mukherjee 7.5/9
Tournament banner
Arbiters’ team
Players, accompanying persons and guests at the closing ceremony
Video Gallery
Check the Playlist for all videos of this event. More will be added over time.
A total 421 players including a GM and three IMs participated from various parts of West Bengal and across the country. The two-day nine-round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Kolkata District Chess Association at Techno India University in Kolkata, West Bengal on 15th and 16th August 2026. The time control was 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment.
Links
Techno India University: Official site, facebook, instagram, youtube and twitter
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