Abhijeet Gupta crowned champion at Pune International Grandmaster Round Robin Chess Tournament

Pune, 8th July 2026: Top seed Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta of India emerged champion with 7.5 points at the Pune International Grandmaster Round Robin Chess Tournament, organised by the Buddhibal Kreeda Trust and sponsored by The Habitat.

International Master Aswath S finished runner-up with 7 points and, in the process, achieved his third and final Grandmaster norm to become India’s 98th Grandmaster. Grandmaster Kushagra Mohan secured third place with 6.5 points, while Pune’s FIDE Master Advik Agarwal earned his second International Master norm after finishing with 5 points.

In the ninth and final round, played at The Fern Habitat in Mundhwa, Abhijeet Gupta defeated Sri Lanka’s International Master L.M.S.T. De Silva to seal the title. Ashwath S overcame USA’s FIDE Master Vaidyanathan Kannan, while International Master Akshay Borgaonkar scored an important victory over Nitish Belurkar.

The decisive encounter between Aswath S and Vaidyanathan Kannan turned out to be the most exciting game of the round. Kannan opened with 1.d4, while Ashwath opted for the King’s Indian Defence. An early inaccuracy left Aswath in a difficult position, but he defended resourcefully and kept the game alive. Kannan later missed a crucial opportunity to capitalize on another mistake, allowing Aswath to seize the initiative and convert the game into a memorable victory that confirmed his Grandmaster title.

Speaking after his historic achievement, Aswath S said, “Although I won my final-round game today, my favourite game of the tournament was my first-round victory over De Silva. It was a sharp and tactical battle, and my attacking move on the 17th move proved decisive. The tournament was organised exceptionally well, and I sincerely appreciate the efforts of the Buddhibal Kreeda Trust in conducting such a high-quality event.”

Advik Agarwal, who secured his second International Master norm, said, “A draw was sufficient for me to achieve the norm today, so I avoided unnecessary risks. I had prepared for Kushagra Mohan’s usual Caro-Kann and French Defence setups. He gained the upper hand in the later stages of the game, but I defended accurately and managed to hold the game to a draw.”

The tournament provided Indian players with an excellent opportunity to achieve Grandmaster and International Master norms on home soil without the need to travel abroad. The organisers expressed their commitment to hosting more such norm events in the future to support the development of Indian chess.

Champion Abhijeet Gupta received the winner’s trophy along with a cash prize of ₹1,00,000, while runner-up Aswath S was awarded the trophy and ₹75,000. Advik Agarwal received a special cash award of ₹25,000 for achieving his second International Master norm.

The prizes were presented by Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan, captain of India’s historic Chess Olympiad gold medal-winning team. Also present on the occasion were Habitat owner Balraj Ghai, MCA Secretary Niranjan Godbole, Joint Secretary Satish Thakur, International Master Abhishek Kelkar, Chief Arbiter R. Srivatsan, Deputy Chief Arbiter IA Atharva Godbole and IA Deepti Shidore.

Results: Round Robin 9th Round:
FM Advik Agrawal(0.5pts)(Ind) drew with IM Kushagra Mohan(0.5pts)(Ind);
GM Aleksandrov, Aleksej(0.5pts)(Blr) drew with GM Fedorov Alexei(0.5pts)(Blr);
IM Akshay Borgaonkar(1pts) bt IM Nitish Belurkar(0pts)(Ind);
FM Vaidyanathan Kannan(0pts)(USA) lost to IM Aswath S(1pts)(Ind)
IM De Silva LMST(0pts)(Slr) lost to
GM Abhijeet Gupta(1pts)(Ind).