Fidemaster (FM) Kshitij Bhandari has won the title of Himalayan Freestyle Chess Championship in a new form of intellectual competition. He defeated Candidate Master (CM) Milan Lama in the final on Friday.
In the final held on the basis of 'best of three', Kshitij won the first two games and ended the challenge of Milan 2-0. In the semi-finals, Kshit defeated Poonam Prasai and Milan defeated Sujan Kafle.
The freestyle chess competition started by former world chess champion Bobby Fisher has been held for the first time in Nepal according to the organizer Himalayan Chess Academy. Title winner Kshitij got 25 thousand, runner-up Milan got 9 thousand 600, semi-finalists Poonam and Sujan got 6 thousand 400.
Another tournament organized by Himalayan Chess on the occasion of its first anniversary, Rajan Puri won the title of Himalayan Blitz Cup. The undefeated Rajan won by scoring 7.5 points in the 9-round competition based on the Swiss system.
Muhan Narsingh Shrestha scored 7.5 points with 7 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw. However, Rajan overtook him on the basis of tie breaker and became the champion. Abhik Shah, who scored 7 points with the result of seven wins and two losses, came third. Rajan got Rs 15,000, Muhan got Rs 7,500 and Abhik got Rs 6,000.
Kusum Tamang won the women's title in Blitz, which included 16 events. On the girls side, Rubeshree Chaulagai in U-8, Nihana Shrestha in U-12, Nayuma Magar in U-14 and Pragya Pant in U-16 were the winners. For boys, Shubhang Pradhan in U-8, Abhiyan Rai in U-10, Dipan Mainali in U-12, Praveer KC in U-14 and Anmol Rai in U-16 became the first winners.
Sitaram Agarwal under FIDE rating 2000, Krish Adhikari under 1700, Dipsan Khadka for unrated and Ashirwad Thapa for HCA were selected as best. 50 players participated in the competition.
Satvik best player
The Himalayan Chess Academy has presented eight different awards along with the best player of the year. Satwikman Tuladhar won the Player of the Year award. Prem Vikram Adhikari became the only player to win the award in two categories. He won the Fair Play and Online Arena Awards. Nayuma Magar won Congeniality Award, Praveer KC won Tactical Titan, Nihana Shrestha won Queens of the Himalayas and Shubhang Pradhan won Rising Star Award. The Academy honored Sitaram Agarwal, Nepal's first FIDE rated player, with a lifetime achievement.
Himalayan Chess Academy, which was inaugurated on March 1, 2080, has organized seven tournaments within a year.
