Goutham Krishna H perfect at RCC Freestyle Blitz Open – 2nd Grand RCC Chess Festival 2026
IM Goutham Krishna H scored 100%, 8/8 to win RCC Freestyle Blitz Tournament at 2nd Grand RCC Chess Festival 2026. Seven players scored 7/8 each. Out of them, IM Nitish Belurkar and GM Laxman R R was placed second and third according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund of the festival was ₹1400001, ₹50000 in the Freestyle event. The top three prizes were ₹20000, ₹13000 and ₹7000 along with a trophy each.
Goutham’s second triumph in the festival
IM Goutham Krishna H won the 35th Blitz Rating Open and the Freestyle/Fischer Random/Chess960 tournaments on the same day. He also went on to win the 37th Blitz Rating Open in a few more days. That will be mentioned in detail in a separate report.
Both Goutham and IM Nitish Belurkar made a blazing start by winning eight games in-a-row. They inevitably clashed against each other in the final round. Goutham prevailed in that battle to become a champion with a perfect score, Nitish finished second. GM Laxman R R defeated Sai Abhinav Kuchibhotla to claim third place.
Rao’s Chess Corner is run by Karnataka’s top chess couple – IM Sharan Rao and WIM Isha Sharma.
Champion – IM Goutham Krishna H 8/8 | Photo: Rao’s Chess Corner
Runner-up – IM Nitish Belurkar 7/8 | Photo: Rao’s Chess Corner
Second Runner-up – GM Laxman R R 7/8 | Photo: Rao’s Chess Corner
Top 3 (L to R): 3rd GM Laxman R R 7/8, 1st IM Goutham Krishna H 8/8 and 2nd IM Nitish Belurkar 7/8 | Photo: Rao’s Chess Corner
For more photos, click here.
A total of 331 players including a GM and 11 IMs took part from all over the country and one from the USA. The one-day eight-round Fischer Random tournament was organized by Rao’s Chess Corner at St. Theresas School Bethany Institution, Bendur in Mangalore, Karnataka on 29th March 2026. The time control was 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment.
Final standings
Links
Rao’s Chess Corner: Official site, facebook, instagram and youtube
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